The Heart of Wildfire
by Crystaline Dreams
Summary: He'd been left for dead by his friends who learn from a stranger that he's still alive, but he's changed. He's grown more distant than ever. Who are Raye & Ameena? Why do the Ronins get the feeling Ryo's hiding a lot more? Possible shounen ai later.
1. Prologue

**Hey, here's a new fic by me. I don't own the Ronin Warriors either. What a shame it is... Oh well.**

**Edited and re-posted 2/10/2012**

* * *

~~~Prologue

"No, he's still alive! I swear I saw him!" the brunette teen yelled as she started pacing.

"You're seeing things, Cari, he's dead. The others even said so themselves," the male teen said, sounding a little annoyed.

"Looks like they don't agree on something," Sage said slowly, watching the teens from across the street.

"Yeah…" Cye said softly.

"No!" Cari yelled. "He's alive, I swear it! Wildfire is still alive! The other Ronins are stupid to have left him for dead. How could Wildfire be killed _**in a fire**_?" Cari screamed before storming off, waving her arms around in frustration.

Kento stopped dead in his tracks wide eyed and paling rapidly. "Ryo's alive?" he whispered.

"I say we go ask her what she knows about Ryo," Rowan stated before quickly crossing the street to chase after the teen.

When they caught up to Cari, they found she was already being questioned by another. A raven haired teen with violet eyes stood before Cari, looking extremely determined to get some answers.

"You said back there that Wildfire is still alive, how do you know that?" the young woman asked.

"I saw him. He was running, a white tiger was right next to him," Cari explained, still sounding very much annoyed.

"How can you be so certain that it was him?" she questioned.

Cari sighed in frustration and stomped a foot against the pavement, "Because of the armor and his attack. He had two swords with him and used Wildfire's 'flare up now' attack. Who else could it _possibly_ be?"

The raven haired teen thought for a moment. "Why wouldn't the other Ronin Warriors know he was still alive? Why would they leave him for dead?"

"Because they're stupid? I don't know, maybe he didn't want them to know he was alive."

"Maybe…" the woman thought some more. "Where did you see him? And when?"

"Just outside town, that way," Cari pointed to the east. "He was headed towards the mountains, yesterday."

"Thanks," the raven haired girl said before taking off towards the mountains.

"He's alive?" Kento repeated his earlier question, eyes wide once again; causing Cari to face them.

"Who are you guys?" she asked, slightly startled.

"It looks that way, Kento. Two things just don't make sense though," Rowan said, brows furrowed, while ignoring Cari.

"What's that?" Cye asked.

"Why did our armors let us believe he was dead and who was that?" Sage answered before Rowan could. "She seemed to be really interested in Ryo's whereabouts."

"Yeah, I think we need to find him before she does," Rowan said, switching over to his sub armor. The others quickly followed suit.

"Oh, shit," Cari whispered, slowly backing away. "You're them, you're the Ronin Warriors."


	2. Chapter 1

******Yeah, I own nothing here but the plot line. Um I guess this can be considered as a very very very slight cross over, but not really. I kinda brought in Raye from Sailor Moon. She still looks the same and has some control over fire but she doesn't transform into Mars or anything. The other senshi are never mentioned either so... You be the judge.**

**Edited and re-posted 2/10/2012**

* * *

~~~Chapter 1

"Ryo, where are you?" the raven haired woman yelled, violet eyes scanning the area frantically. "Ryo! I know you're out here somewhere! Answer me!" She waited a few minutes, eyes watching for any movement. After another couple minutes she started climbing higher up the hill side. Once she found a good spot, she stopped again. Her eyes slowly surveyed the area once more, then flew to her left when she heard a branch snap.

"I know you're there! Come out now or I'll fry your ass," she said sharply.

"Okay, we're coming out," Kento said, stepping out from his hiding spot in the trees. The remaining three Ronins quickly followed.

"Why are you looking for Ryo?" Rowan asked as he took in their surroundings.

"Why do you care?" she questioned accusingly, noticing the armor they wore. "Aren't you the ones who left him for dead?" she asked coldly.

"Hey, that wasn't our fault!" Kento yelled defensively.

"Oh no, of course not. You were forced to leave him behind whether you wanted to or not, I understand completely," the teen said sarcastically while rolling her eyes. She turned away from them and started up the hill side once again.

"So why are you looking for him?" Sage asked this time. He was the first to follow after their mysterious stranger, the others slowly followed.

"Because if he's alive like Cari said, I'm going to kick his ass for not coming home like he promised," she replied in a more serious tone with her back to them still.

"Who are you?" Cye questioned.

"Raye, and that's all you need to know."

"Fine," Kento huffed.

They continued up the hill side for a while longer and only stopped once they saw the caves at the base of the mountains directly ahead of them. There was nothing but trees off to both sides, almost surrounding them. The skies were getting cloudier the longer they traveled, the gentle breeze that had been hanging around all day became stronger and colder the closer they got to those mountains.

"You don't think he's…" Cye trailed off, looking at the mountains.

"Maybe," Sage answered carefully and then stopped, his posture stiffened. He could have sworn he'd heard something and was now scanning the area warily.

"What is it, Sage?" Rowan asked, stopping next to Sage. He watched Sage's eyes for a moment then scanned the area himself to see if he could find what had caught Sage's attention.

"I thought I heard-"

"Uh guys? We've got company," Kento interrupted. They slowly looked around to see themselves surrounded by Dynasty soldiers.

"Time to take out the trash," Raye said. Then, before anyone could do anything, all the soldiers burst into bright red and orange flames. The soldiers were burnt to small piles of ashes within seconds, then blew away with the fierce icy winds. The Ronins and Raye stood shocked for a moment before looking around for their savior. Various expressions of disbelief crossed everyone's faces as their eyes stopped on the warrior clad in red armor and his companion, a large white tiger. Sage was the first to recover.

"Ryo," Sage started quietly, "You really are-"

"What are you guys doing here?" he asked sounding more than a little annoyed with his so called friends. Not looking at any of them, he changed back to his sub armor while absently scratching the tiger's ears.

"We came looking for you," Cye answered, taking a hesitant step forward.

"Well, you found me, now you can go. You too Raye," he said while turning away, his voice emotionless. "White Blaze, come."

"Ryo, wait! Please!" Raye begged, her voice breaking as she took a couple steps toward him.

"What Raye? What do you want from me?" Ryo asked, stopping. They could all hear the weariness in his voice and if they weren't mistaken, a little bit of suppressed anger.

"Why didn't you come back? You promised you would."

"I promised lots of things, didn't I? Things change… They're just gonna have to wait," Ryo answered as he continued to walk away.

"Ryo?" Cye started, "Why-"

"It's not your fight, go home," he replied coldly without turning around.

"Ryo, would you at least talk to us?" Kento demanded, getting more than a little annoyed with the direction this conversation was going in. They came all this way to find him and he wouldn't give them the time of day.

"Why? The less you know the better off you are. Trust me. Go back while you still can," he said sounding almost sad this time, still not looking directly at them. Everyone paused for a moment and Kento's anger faded a bit at that. Something was off about all of this, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was.

"What happened to you Ryo?" Sage asked when he caught up to his friend. The others were right behind him wearing similar expressions of curiosity.

"You won't leave, will you?" Ryo questioned without looking back. His posture slouched a bit at this point, signaling a defeat of some sort.

"No," Sage replied immediately. "If we hadn't been tricked, we wouldn't have left you last time. So what happened?" he repeated his earlier question. Something was different about Ryo, he knew this. They all did. Something had happened to him since they last saw him, and from the looks of it, it wasn't good. Maybe it had something to do with why the armor made them think he was dead.

"Nothing," Ryo said, his voice lacking emotion of any kind.

"Ryo-"

"It's in the past, it's over now," Ryo stated more to himself than anyone else. He then stopped and closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, then slowly opened them once more. "What do you think, White Blaze?" White Blaze just roared softly, bumping his head against Ryo's leg. "Me too, let's go that way then." After that, Ryo headed straight into the forest without a word or backwards glance to the group behind him.

The others just watched him for a moment, then quickly followed. Sage decided to keep a close eye on Ryo. He wasn't sure why, but something told him he should.


	3. Chapter 2

**So, here's the next chapter of The Heart of Wildfire. I took someone's advice and went back and added to it before uploading it. Hope you guys like it, and sorry for the delay, computer issues... Anyway, I own nothing, well, I have a pepsi and a candy bar! On with the story!**

**Edited and re-posted 2/10/2012  
**

* * *

~~~Chapter 2

_'Sage, I feel that you and the others are near. Go, go now, while you still can. Don't get caught in their trap like I did. Be safe guys, and please keep an eye on Raye for me,' _Ryo thought to himself as he quickly fell into darkness.

"Hey, what's wrong Sage? You okay?" Rowan asked. He'd looked back and noticed Sage had quit walking and was just standing there next to a tree, his eyes slightly glazed.

"Yeah Sage, you alright?" Kento asked, coming to stand beside Sage as well.

_'Ryo, was that really you?' _Sage questioned mentally, watching the Ryo before him. Ryo did nothing, he just continued to walk down the trail, getting further away from the clearing they were in earlier. _'Can you hear me, Ryo?' _Sage tried again, starting to feel a little confused.

"Sage?" Cye questioned, laying a hand on Sage's shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Huh? What is it?" Sage asked, paying attention once again. He noticed his friends surrounding him, minus Ryo.

"That's what we were going to ask you," Rowan replied softly, worry etched on his face.

"Hmm…" Sage started, watching Ryo once again. He was damn sure that Ryo wasn't paying them any attention as he continued to walk further away from them. "I'm not so sure that's Ryo. If it is, he's in a trance or something."

"Why do you say that?" Raye demanded, violet eyes flaring in anger. How could that _NOT_ be Ryo?"

"Because of what he said to me a minute ago."

"He didn't say _anything_," Raye replied, looking at Sage as though he'd just grown a furry green tail or something.

"Sage can hear what we're thinking most of the time," Cye explained. "It's part of his power."

"What did he say?" Rowan asked, more than a little curious now.

"To turn back while we still could, that he didn't want us to fall into the same trap he fell in. He also said to keep an eye on her for him," Sage said, nodding to Raye.

"Did he say anything else?" Rowan questioned, blue eyes darting between Sage and Ryo.

"No, but he sounded so tired. Almost like he was after we fought Tulpa," Sage said. He looked to the ground and thought for a moment. It just didn't make any sense to him. Were there two Ryo's? Or was Ryo trapped within his own body?

"So what makes you think that he's not Ryo?" Raye spoke up, gesturing towards Ryo.

"I tried talking to him; this guy in front of us did nothing," Sage answered, watching the warrior clad in red with suspicious eyes.

"Ryo would have done something. Even if it was just to look over here to let us know he heard," Cye said quietly before Raye could ask anything else.

"So what do we do now?" Kento asked, sounding gloomy. He didn't want to fight someone that looked exactly like his best friend. "And what about White Blaze? He seems to believe that that's Ryo."

"Stay with him for now I guess. Wait until Ryo contacts me again," Sage answered defeated.

"Do you think he will?" Cye questioned, green eyes watching his feet.

"I'm not sure," Sage said quietly. "If he does, I don't think it will be for a while. He sounded too tired. I think he's fighting something."

"Like what?" Rowan asked.

"I'm not sure," Sage replied. After another minute or so, the Ronins and Raye made their way up the trail to catch up with Ryo. Whether he was the real Ryo or not, they knew they couldn't lose sight of him now, he just may be the only way to find out what was going on.

* * *

Ryo finally stirred from his fitful sleep. He groaned as he slowly sat up on the cold stony floor. He knew this was bad, he had no idea where he was or how he'd gotten there. He vaguely remembered talking to Sage, but couldn't remember actually seeing him or why he was talking to his old friend. This bothered him a little, but he couldn't say for sure why.

"What happened?" he asked aloud. "Where am I?"

He slowly stood up, testing his legs beneath him. He could stand, that relieved him a little, but the spinning and the pounding in his head only worsened, worrying him. He couldn't remember taking a hit to the head, or anywhere else for that matter.

"Sage? Can you hear me?" Ryo called out. He knew he had spoken with Sage and he had sounded worried. _Why would Sage be worried? What the hell is going on?_

He slowly started walking, a sharp pain making itself known in his side. _Damn, so it's not just my head that hurts._ He stood still for a moment, waiting for the pain to subside. Once it dulled just enough for him to move comfortably, he started walking again. He looked around cautiously, trying to figure out where he was. It was dark, and narrow like a tunnel or a small cave passage. He could barely hear water dripping in the distance. There was something about this place that bothered him. He couldn't help but thinking he'd been here before.

What had he been doing before this happened? Why did he leave his apartment in the first place? Something told him he hadn't wanted to go out, but he left because he had to. If that was the case, why weren't his friends with him? Didn't he call them? He was starting to get a very bad feeling about all of this. He could only remember bits and pieces of things so he couldn't piece things together very well.

_Something just doesn't make sense here. Why do I feel like there's something I need to do and don't have time to waste? I hope Ameena's al- Ameena!_

Ryo immediately took off running, ignoring the pain the movement caused and the way the world started spinning around him.

* * *

"That was weird," Sage mumbled after a while, rubbing his eyes.

"Did you say something, Sage?" Rowan asked, sitting down next to the blonde. They had decided to take a quick break before going further up the mountain side. They'd been at it for over three hours now, just following Ryo around. Ryo sat a few feet away, the tiger lying next to him, almost as though he were guarding him, _**from them**_.

"Huh?" Sage asked, looking from Ryo to Rowan.

"What's wrong, Sage? You look distracted."

"I guess I am," he muttered while looking at the ground.

"Sage?" Kento started, looking a little worried.

"Ryo's not doing to good, I can feel it. He's confused too, bits of his memory are missing," Sage mumbled. Whether he was talking to them or just thinking out loud, they didn't know. "His head and his side hurt… He's too tired to keep running… Vision keeps going in and out…" Sage whispered, his eyes closed now. "Why isn't White Blaze here? Dammit, what's going on? Where are the others? Please be safe guys. Be safe Ameena."

Sage's eyes suddenly flew open. He hunched over gasping for air.

"Sage!" Cye cried out, falling to his knees next to Sage. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I think… I think I tapped into Ryo's mind…" Sage said, shock written all over his pale face.

"What?" Kento asked in disbelief. "Could you tell where he was?"

"Caves."

"You're sure he's in the caves?" Raye asked, finally speaking up.

"Yeah. Cold, dark and damp. He's near, I can feel it," he said then looked at Raye. "Do you know who Ameena is?"

"No, not really. He's mentioned her, but nothing more. I know she's important to him," Raye replied.

Sage looked at Ryo once again. He knew this wasn't their friend, but then just who the hell was he? Ryo didn't seem to notice anyone watching him. That alone made Sage think some more. Ryo always knew when someone was watching him, even if he didn't verbally acknowledge it, you could always tell from his body language that he knew. Not now though. He just sat there, staring ahead at nothing in particular.

Rowan sat there thinking on what Sage had just said. After a few minutes he realized something and his gaze went straight to where he knew the base of the mountains were. Sage said he was positive that Ryo was in a cave. They were going to go looking in the caves before this Ryo came out of no where. Someone didn't want them in those caves. Someone didn't want them to find the real Ryo.

* * *

Ryo continued to run within the caves. He knew he was lost but wouldn't stop, he knew that once he stopped he'd be done. He was too tired, his side felt as though it was on fire and his head was pounding. His vision kept going in an out and that scared him, although he'd never admit it out loud. He had to find a way out of these caves if it killed him and from the way things were looking to him at that moment, it just very well might.

Ryo could have sworn he'd heard Sage again a few minutes ago but knew for a fact he was alone. "Why isn't White Blaze here? Dammit, what's going on? Where are the others? Please be safe guys. Be safe Ameena."

He ran around another corner, struggling to keep his speed up. He wouldn't slow down, couldn't. Ameena needed him and he knew he couldn't help her until he got out of here. Down another narrow passage, and around another corner. It appeared endless and Ryo began to wonder if he was running in circles. Someone was probably getting a kick out of watching him and that thought alone pissed him off enough to force him to keep going.

He rushed around yet another corner then stopped dead in his tracks. "Sun light?" he asked himself, amazed. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "Did I finally find the way out?" he asked dumbfounded. He took a couple hesitant steps toward the cave's entrance before breaking into a run once again. He wasn't going to wait for someone to come out from around that last corner to drag him back in. He was getting the hell out. Now he just had to find that guy with his armor…

* * *

**End Chapter 2**

**Heehee. I like the way I ended that one! Now on to more typing! I hand wrote 27 pages worth of an update for this while my computer was down. None of that has been typed up yet. This part was typed, just not edited before the comp crashed and burned. Hope you guys like it so far. Please review. :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Edited and re-posted 2/10/2012**

* * *

~~Chapter 3

"Sage, are you getting anything else from him?" Cye asked, watching the impostor before them. They had all agreed a short time ago that Ryo was not really Ryo, the real Ryo was somewhere else entirely. This impostor was sent to keep them from finding the real Ryo.

"No," Sage replied, eyes on the ground. He knew something was going on, he just couldn't see the big picture yet and it was about to drive him up the wall. He felt Ryo's confusion earlier, heard all the questions Ryo had and knew Ryo didn't know much more than they did now.

"My question still stands," Kento stated angrily as he leaned against a nearby tree. He was so mad at the moment that he couldn't look at his friends for fear of yelling at, if not hitting, one of them. So he had settled with leaning against a tree a few feet away from his friends.

"Kento," Rowen started, but was interrupted by Kento who was barely containing his anger as he pushed himself off the tree.

"No! Why the hell are we still here? Still following this guy?" Kento demanded, waving a hand in _Ryo's_ direction. "We know he doesn't want us near the caves, and from what Sage got earlier, that's where Ryo is. Why are we going farther away from where we should be going?" he demanded once again, only this time he was dangerously close to hitting someone. Then before anyone could offer an answer, he spoke up again. "Forget it, I'm done waiting on you guys. Ryo would have already ditched this dude if it were one of us missing. I'm going to the caves." With that, Kento stalked away from the group, fists clenched at his sides and headed back the way they came.

"Wait, Kento!" Cye called, jumping to his feet in one swift motion.

"No, he's right," Rowen said quietly, grabbing Cye's arm before he too could take off. "Whatever we were hoping to find by following him," he said, pointing to 'Ryo' with his thumb, "can wait. Last thing Sage got from Ryo indicated he was in pain."

"I agree. Besides, I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this," Sage admitted softly, still watching the dirt beneath his feet.

"What do you mean?" Raye questioned, finally speaking up from her spot on the ground.

"I'm not sure, to be honest, it's just a feeling." Sage sat there a moment longer before finally pulling himself up to his feet. He then dusted himself off before looking in the direction Kento had gone.

"Do you think something's wrong with Ryo?" Cye asked.

"I don't know. Maybe," Sage paused. "Maybe it's just what Kento said that's bothering me. We kept following this guy; Ryo would have gone the other way once he figured out it was a decoy, not continue following the damned thing."

"Let's go then. We've wasted enough time," Rowen agreed. Once they had all picked themselves up, they headed in the same direction Kento had gone, without a glance back. If they had, they just might have caught Ryo and White Blaze transforming into something else.

* * *

_Come on, I know it's here somewhere. This is where they got me. It has to be here somewhere, it just has to. _Ryo thought to himself while looking around the area. Every so often he'd drop to his knees and start crawling around, digging through the grass. Then he'd get right back up, although not as easily and move further away from the caves just to start all over again. He remembered coming up from the east, but not why, or even when.

He finally stopped near a small group of trees and scanned the area. He was now in the middle of the clearing, half way between the forest and the caves. He knew something was off, kept waiting to be attacked. He knew that if he were attacked right now though, he'd lose. He was far to tired and weak, and as much as he hated to admit it, defenseless. He didn't have his orb which meant he didn't have his armor or weapons. He knew he had it when he'd headed up here, it must have been taken when he was captured. It was the only explanation he could come up with.

"Damn," Ryo sighed, finally sitting down, resting against a tree. Once he did, he regretted it, he knew he wouldn't be getting back up on his own anytime soon. His breathing was labored and the pounding in his head had doubled since exiting the caves, Ryo blamed the sunlight for this. He had a sneaking suspicion he'd bruised, if not broke, a few ribs. He decided that once he'd steadied his breathing, he'd try getting back up, for all the good that would do. He hurt everywhere, numerous bruises were making themselves known now that he was finally conscious. He could only wonder what had happened to him between the time he'd left his apartment and when he'd awoken in the caves.

* * *

Kento stomped angrily down the faded trail he'd walked a while ago with his friends, his anger only growing with every step he took knowing his friends weren't with him. He couldn't help but think of his friends, and it only served to fuel his temper.

"I can't believe them! After everything we've been through, everything we've seen… How? How could they just-" Kento stopped his rant short. He'd been so angry with his friends, with their decision or lack there of, that he'd almost missed it. His anger faded instantly as he became more alert. After a moment he realized what it was, he could feel the armor of Wildfire calling out to him. Was Ryo nearby?

Kento slowed his pace drastically as he became even more aware of his surroundings. He was in the middle of a very thick patch of trees and couldn't see much of anything. There were too many hiding places around him and he was beginning to think he should have made someone come with him, no matter how angry he was at them. He was getting an uneasy feeling and he didn't like it in the least.

His thoughts went back to Ryo as the armor of Wildfire tugged at him again. He quit trying to remember the way he'd come and let the armors guide him. Before he knew it, Kento found himself at the edge of the woods once again. This time he was a lot closer to the base of the mountains and could clearly see the caves. He was determined to find Ryo and headed towards the caves. Not three feet out of the trees, he stopped dead in his tracks. He looked confused for a moment before looking around to find what had caused him to stop so suddenly; then something on the ground caught his eyes. The armor's pull vanished immediately as Kento dropped to his knees. He slowly reached out a shaky hand and picked up a small red orb. The symbol of virtue flashed within the orb for a moment before vanishing.

"Shit," Kento muttered. "Where are you Ryo?" Kento whispered the question aloud, his thoughts growing fearful for his missing buddy.

* * *

"Where the hell did Kento go? He wasn't that far ahead of us?" Cye asked, eyes scanning the trees frantically.

"I don't know, but he can't have gone that far. Come on, we'll find him," Rowen said, gently pushing Cye forward.

_I could have sworn I felt Ryo's armor for a minute there. It came from over there_, Sage thought to himself, looking off to his right.

Raye looked up to see the Ronin's ahead of her, but Sage was no longer moving. He just stood there, staring off into the distance. "Did you see something?" she asked, stopping next to him. Her question got the attention of the other two.

"No," he said, shaking his head gently, eyes not moving from whatever they were watching. "But…"

"What?" Rowen asked, placing a hand on Sage's shoulder once he was next to him again.

"I think I felt his armor… Ryo's I mean, not Kento."

"From over there?" Cye asked, gesturing in the direction Sage had been watching. Sage only nodded. "Then let's go." No one would ask why Sage was the only one to feel it, because Ryo wouldn't have questioned it. They would follow Sage's instincts for now and hope that it would be enough.

After a few minutes, Rowen realized that Sage, once again, wasn't with them. Rowen looked over his shoulder; once he spotted Sage, he told the others to wait up. He slowly made his way over to Sage's still form. Sage didn't move as Rowen stopped next to him, and Rowen noticed Sage's eyes looked glazed and he was slightly paler than normal.

"Sage?" Rowen asked quietly. Sage didn't do so much as blink. Sage had felt worry and fear coming from someone he'd never felt fear from before and that worried him.

_Kento, what's wrong? What happened? _Sage questioned telepathically.

_'Sage, something's really wrong. I mean really, __**really **__wrong,' _Kento answered. _'I felt Ryo's armor pulling at me so I followed it. I'm not in the forest anymore, I'm actually fairly close to the caves now.'_

_And…? What aren't you telling me, Kento?_

_'I found Ryo's orb. It was just laying in the grass, I almost missed it. He's not here, Sage, he's not got his armor with him!'_

"It's not with him?" Sage yelled aloud, startling his friends. "Shit!"

"Sage? What is it? What happened?" Cye demanded.

Sage looked at his friends while a new fear started to form in the back of his mind. "Kento found Ryo's armor… Minus Ryo," Sage answered quietly.

* * *

**Hee hee hee. I was so going to end it right here, but then realized how short that would make this chapter, but I love cliff hangers! But I have made you all wait long enough for an update so I'll be nice this time and continue the chapter. Sorry for the interruption. *runs away to hide***

* * *

_'It's not with him?'_ Kento heard Sage yell in his head. He shook his head slightly, as though to clear it. He stood there for a moment longer before glancing at the orb in his hand. Kento knew he had to find Ryo, knew something was wrong. Why else would Ryo **not** have his armor? They knew he had to have been attacked. The only question on their minds right now was why? He moved further away from the trees and closer to the caves. He held Ryo's orb tightly within his hands as he looked for his missing comrade.

He stopped half way between the mountains and the forest when he noticed a small patch of trees in the middle of the clearing. He slowly started to circle the cluster of trees before stopping once more. What made him stop was the person sitting on the ground beneath the trees. He slowly started moving once more, inching closer to the black haired teen on the ground, the other not once looking up. Kento knew then that something wasn't right. Ryo always knew when someone was coming, he was always aware of his surroundings. The Ryo before him appeared to be completely oblivious to the fact that he wasn't alone anymore. Kento knew he shouldn't have been able to sneak up on his friend, not even when he tried.

* * *

Ryo sat there on the ground silently, trying to think through his headache. This, of course, only made his headache worse and he silently cursed himself for it. He couldn't remember if he'd fought back when he was attacked, or if he had in deed been attacked. Surely if he'd been attacked, he'd have fought back, right? But there were no defensive wounds on him. He'd studied his hands and arms, but found no trace of having fought anyone. But his head and side hurt too much to **not** have been attacked.

Ryo gave up thinking for the moment and lowered his head into his hands and closed his eyes. He wanted to know what was going on, but he needed his headache to go away first. He couldn't get himself to focus on anything at the moment.

_Wait… Sage. I could have sworn I spoke to Sage, more than once, _Ryo thought to himself, bringing his head up a few inches. That's when he noticed a shadow at his feet, one that wasn't there earlier. He stiffened instantly, knowing he should have been paying more attention to his surroundings. He sat still for a moment longer before finally speaking up.

"Fine, you've got me. Just don't hit me over the head again, I won't fight you right now," Ryo said quietly, still not looking at the shadow's owner.

"I should hope you wouldn't fight me, and why would I hit you over the head?"

Ryo looked up instantly at the familiar voice, then regretted the sudden movement when a sharp pain raced across his skull. "Kento!"

"You alright there, buddy? You don't look to good," Kento stated, kneeling next to Ryo to get a better look at him.

"I'll live," was Ryo's quiet answer. Once he saw Kento's accusing face, he looked away guiltily. After a moment, he answered Kento's question honestly. "My head feels like it's going to split in two any moment now, I think I've bruised some ribs, and I can't get back up on my own," he mumbled.

"Damn it," Kento breathed. "What happened to you?"

"I don't know," Ryo answered, finally looking Kento in the eyes. "I just don't know," he sighed, looking away once more.

Kento took in Ryo's appearance and knew Ryo had been through a lot. The deep shadows under his eyes suggested that he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a very long time and Kento had never seen Ryo look so small before. It was clear that he'd lost weight, and not just a little. His jeans and long sleeve shirt practically swallowed him because he was so thin now, he was almost frail looking. Kento knew immediately that his friend was worse off than he looked, he never let his friends see just how much he was hurting until it was too late. He knew this time was no different, but Ryo was so pale now, almost sick looking. His mind filled with questions he wanted answers to, answers he didn't want to wait for.

"Why didn't you ask us to help you?" Kento finally asked.

"I don't know," Ryo repeated, eyes closed and head resting in his hands once more.

"Ryo…"

"I can't remember much of anything," Ryo said after a minute. "I woke up inside the caves. I kind of remember coming out here, but I'm not sure when, and not entirely sure why. I remember being hit upside the head… And Sage…" he trailed off. _Sage was here, with me. What were we talking about? He was mad about something… Did I say something? Maybe I did something…_

"What about Sage?" Kento inquired.

"I'm not sure," Ryo mumbled, still trying to put his thoughts together. He finally looked up again and continued. "There was something about his eyes…" He sat there, staring off into the distance before it looked like he'd finally put something together, then turned to question Kento. "What's your favorite thing to do, Kento?"

"You mean besides eating?" Kento asked almost immediately, then noticed Ryo was serious. He got ready to give a serous answer but noticed Ryo seemed to have relaxed a little with Kento's original answer. "What's wrong?"

"Shape shifters," he whispered. At Kento's blank stare, Ryo continued. "That's why I didn't ask for help, or even fight back. Sage and White Blaze were here with me, or at least I thought it was them. Sage… No, not Sage… Who-ever he was hit me over the head, I think I blacked out shortly after that," Ryo said.

"Why would they go after you though? Why not one of us?" Kento asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

"Weakness is fire," Ryo muttered, thinking once more. _Why didn't I see that it wasn't Sage? I should have known it wasn't Sage. Why would t be him? Where is White Blaze? _After a moment he decided he wanted to see if the rest of his friends were here, he needed to be with them even if only for a few moments. "Help me up?"

"Sure," Kento replied softly, offering Ryo his hand once he got himself up.

* * *

_("Kento found Ryo's armor… Minus Ryo," Sage answered quietly.)_

"Shit," Rowen cursed softly. Ryo always had his armor, always.

"Then we need to get moving, now," Raye said before she took off running. The Ronins caught up easily, Rowen sending her a questioning look. "What?"

"What do you know?" Rowen asked.

"Nothing, I'm just assuming right now and hoping like hell that I'm wrong," Raye replied. The other's just shrugged their shoulders and continued to run.

After a few minutes, they heard someone yelling at them. "Hey! Where are you guys going?" Kento called out as the group ran past him. Cye stopped to look back, then yelled at the others when he saw Kento standing there. He then noticed Ryo behind Kento, leaning back against a tree.

"Hey Kento. Ryo? Where have you been?" Cye questioned, walking over.

"I found him near the caves," Kento answered.

"I thought I felt you guys out here, then ran into Kento by the caves," Ryo explained. "So, you guys alright? Heard you ran into a bit of trouble earlier."

"Yeah, we're all fine," Sage answered, relieved that they had the real Ryo back. They had left him for dead some time ago, he had been attacked earlier, and yet he was still concerned about them before he'd show any for himself.

"I'm glad to see you're okay," Rowen said.

"What's wrong, Raye?" Ryo questioned, not moving from his resting spot. Raye studied him for a moment before answering. He looked perfectly fine to her.

"Nothing," she replied. "I'm just surprised to see that you're alright," she said quietly. Maybe Kento had done something to help him before they came back.

* * *

"Maybe we should wait here for the others, you don't look too good there buddy," Kento said, pulling one of Ryo's arms over his shoulder. To Kento, it appeared that Ryo was having trouble staying up on his own, much less walking. Ryo had used up all the strength he'd built up while sitting earlier. "We should stop, you need to rest more."

"No, we have to keep going," Ryo said, breathing heavily. They had already past where Kento had found Ryo's orb, which was now in Kento's pocket. He hadn't given it back yet for fear that this wasn't the real Ryo either, he hadn't mentioned yet that he didn't have it anymore.

Ryo continued to push forward though, refusing to give in to rest. Kento wanted Ryo to sit back down shortly after they'd started walking though. He'd grown paler within seconds after standing up and his eyes were glazed for a minute or two. He knew Ryo was in a great deal of pain, but he would never admit it. Not until he couldn't hide it anymore.

"I can feel Sage… And Raye. They're both concerned, maybe even suspicious, about something."

"What?" Kento asked, curiosity and disbelief written all over his face. Ryo ignored it and kept pushing himself forward. It wasn't until they were back in the woods that Ryo spoke again.

"Listen."

"I'm just surprised to see that you're alright," they heard Raye say quietly.

"I just needed to rest a while, right Kento?" the two heard Ryo question.

"But… But you're right here!" Kento stammered to the Ryo he was supporting.

"Yeah, so are you," Ryo pointed out as the false Kento agreed with the other Ryo's statement. "I think it's time we make ourselves known."

"But why would they believe us over them?" Kento questioned. "They have our sub armors on."

"No they don't. You have yours on, not him. Theirs are fakes, copies. We'll find a way. Let's go," Ryo said, pulling away from Kento. He wobbled a little before steadying himself. He was determined to keep anyone else from seeing he was injured, for now at least.

"So, you're the bastard that hit me over the head earlier," Ryo said, stepping out from behind the trees, suddenly angry again.

"Ryo, wait!" Kento yelled, following him out knowing he would only injure himself worse if he kept pushing himself too hard.

"Whoa…" Cye started. "There's two of them."

"We noticed," Raye said blandly.

"What are you talking about? You hit me," the fake Ryo accused, sounding just a little too calm.

"Like hell I did!" Ryo yelled, thoroughly pissed off now. "I should beat the shit out of you right now!" Ryo growled, taking another step forward, his side screaming bloody murder but he did his best to ignore it.

"You could try," the fake Ryo replied smugly, leaning against his tree once more.

"Ryo, don't!" the real Kento yelled. He could see Ryo's pain in the way he moved, the slight tremors he tried to hide from the others. "Sage, do something!" he pleaded.

Sage was almost certain which Kento was the real one, even before he'd begged Sage to help. Ryo on the other hand, confused him. He couldn't be the first one because Ryo was never smug and with all the pain he'd felt from Ryo earlier, the first was clearly uninjured. The second Ryo he wasn't certain about either. He'd never seen Ryo as angry as this one was now, and he too didn't appear to be injured in anyway.

"Sage, please!" Kento begged again, looking desperate now.

_But… Which one?_

"Damn it Ryo, stop this now!" Kento yelled as Ryo got closer to the impostor, his own anger starting to show once again.

"Why? Why should I let them go again?" Ryo demanded, his voice getting louder by the minute, his eyes never leaving the shape shifters before him. "One of them came up here with me, as Sage, then beat the shit out of me. Then dumped me in that damned cave _**and**_ took my armor from me!" That statement got everyone's attention and the Ronins knew immediately who the real Ryo was, but Ryo wasn't done yet. "I still don't know what happened to White Blaze or where they're hiding Ameena and you want me to let them go? I can't do that, not this time!"

"Looks like they've chosen him, friend," the fake Kento said to his partner as Sage took a step toward the real Ryo. Just as Ryo lunged forward, the two impostors changed into a pair of crows and flew away.

"Damn it!" Ryo yelled, finally falling to his knees, the pain getting to be too much for him.

"Ryo!" Kento called out, racing to his friend's side. The others stood still, still a little confused. "I told you to stop and rest longer, you dummy. You could have really hurt yourself, or did your anger make you forget about your ribs and such?" he demanded, slightly angry at Ryo for his recklessness. He then pushed something gently into Ryo's hands.

Ryo looked down and saw that it was his orb and gave the faintest of smiles. "Thanks," he said at first, then responded to Kento's demands. "No Kento, that's what made me so angry." Ryo's eyes were now closed while he tried to steady his breathing once more.

"White Blaze and Ameena are both missing; my friends, who I haven't seen in over three years, are up here fighting and probably don't have the slightest idea way, and one if not both of those ass holes tried to get rid of me today, yesterday… When ever it was I got up here. They wouldn't have gotten close enough, long enough to injure me like this if I hadn't thought I could trust them," Ryo said, sitting down fully now. His eyes shut tight as though that would make some of the pain vanish.

"I was right," Raye said, finally speaking up. "You're weak."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Kento said angrily, ready to hit her.

"No, she's right," Ryo whispered now, causing his friends to look at him with worry.

Raye wandered off for a minute, then came back with a small arm full of branches and sticks. She quickly arranged them near Ryo, then said a small incantation, causing them to catch fire.

"Thanks," Ryo mumbled. Raye only nodded, resting a hand on his shoulder for a moment.

"I don't get it," Rowen finally said, looking blankly from Raye to Ryo, to the fire, then back to Ryo.

"He's weak right now. Kento found his armor, but not him and Sage felt his pain earlier. He didn't have his element to help protect him when he was attacked so he needs the fire now to get some of his strength back," Raye said while watching Ryo carefully. Rowen only looked half satisfied with this answer.

"So, care to tell us now how you know Ryo? Or how you know about us?" Sage questioned. When she didn't answer, Ryo did.

"Raye's my sister," he said quietly, then after a moment, "Kento, you were right. We should have waited."

"Shit," Kento said, paling slightly, causing the others to worry. "How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad," he whispered, finally dropping his act. They all saw within a matter of seconds why Kento had panicked earlier at the thought of Ryo fighting. Ryo wasn't doing too good, they were surprised he was conscious.

"Ryo, what hurts the worst?" Sage asked, dropping next to Ryo.

"Chest… And my head," Ryo answered, still whispering. It was then that they realized why, he didn't have the energy to talk anymore. _I really thought it was you. I couldn't remember doing anything to piss you off, but you were so mad at me. If I did anything to make you mad, I'm sorry Sage. I'm really sorry,_ Ryo said mentally to Sage before letting the darkness engulf him once more.


	5. Chapter 4

******Chapter 4 for you. It's not as long as the last chapter, but I'm off tomorrow and if you all are lucky, I'll have the next one up before work on Friday. Oh, keep in mind I'm a twisted little shit at times. I thought of another new twist that I'm hinting at in this chapter, but more of it will come out in chapter 5. Now on with the story!**

**Edited and re-posted 2/10/2012**

* * *

~~~Chapter 4

Kento and Raye caught Ryo as he pitched forward, preventing him from landing in the small fire before him. Kento had been half expecting it but it still surprised him, the others hadn't. There was no warning, no real sign that he was going to collapse like that.

'_Ryo?' _Sage asked through their link, trying to get through to Ryo. _'It's not your fault, Ryo. If anyone has a right to be mad, it's you. Just rest now.'_ Sage waited quietly as Raye lie Ryo down, his head resting in her lap. Once she had Ryo settled, Sage moved forward, holding his hands out over his friend.

"Get his chest first, Sage. He kept saying he must have bruised them, but with the way he was breathing, I think it's worse than that. Then get his head," Kento said softly, looking down on Ryo as he slept. Sage only nodded and moved his hands to Ryo's chest. His right side appeared to be fine, it was his left side that made Sage pause. The pain he'd felt coming from Ryo earlier was only a fraction of what Ryo had been feeling. How could he mask that much pain?

"What is it Sage?" Rowen asked when he noticed Sage hesitating.

"Why did they do this to him?" Sage wondered. "Three broken ribs, two slightly cracked, and lots of bruising, internal and external," Sage whispered, sad eyes still on the fire ronin.

"He said their weakness was fire," Kento mumbled from Raye's other side. "Find anything else?" he asked after a minute. Sage stayed quiet as he checked Ryo for more injuries. He immediately healed the ones that would end up being fatal if not taken care of, then went back to Ryo's broken ribs as he nodded sadly to Kento's question. Kento stilled for a moment before sending a questioning gaze to Sage.

"Yeah," he replied quietly. "He has a concussion and a sprained ankle still, I'll have to get those later." He sat there a moment just watching Ryo as he slept, noticing that he appeared to be breathing easier now, then continued to talk softly. "He had some internal bleeding, but I got that already. They really tried to kill him. If he hadn't gotten away and you hadn't found him, Kento, he would have bleed to death and none of us would have known," he paused now, taking a deep breath to steady his fraying nerves. "He's going to have one hell of a headache when he wakes up, and a stiff ankle, but he should be fine now," Sage finished, looking extremely worn out now.

"You did what you could, Sage. Let's take him home, he needs to rest now," Rowen said, helping Sage up. Cye agreed with Rowen, giving Sage a pat on the back. Raye helped Kento lift Ryo onto his back so he could carry his friend piggy-back style back towards the road, and their cars.

_I'm gonna have to thank Sage for that later, if he's still here… This I can handle. _Ryo thought to himself. He thought he could hear the others talking around him, but he wasn't certain. His mind kept wandering off to things he so desperately wanted to be real. The voices kept fading in and out, no matter how much he tried to focus on them, so he couldn't make himself believe that he was really hearing them. After some more time had passed, he felt himself being moved around, then lifted off the ground. It wasn't until he realized they were taking him somewhere, that he tried to fight back.

_Wait, where are we going? Guys? Answer me! Damn it, where are we going?_ Ryo demanded, not realizing he wasn't speaking aloud. _Come on guys, we can't leave yet. I Haven't found them yet! _Ryo slowly started to panic then. He could finally sense Ameena and White Blaze, and his friends were taking him further away from them.

"What is it, Kento?" Ryo heard Cye question.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say Ryo's trying to argue with us or something," Kento replied with a soft laugh, but the sadness was still there.

_YES! _Ryo's mind yelled.

"You eat too many sweets, Kento," Sage replied with a small laugh of his own.

_Damn you Sage! _Ryo thought somewhat harshly and fought with himself to get his eyes to obey him. _I won't leave yet, not now that I'm so close! _He finally managed to open his eyes and saw that his friends, were in fact, taking him back down the hill side. He fought with himself a little more, struggling to regain normal body movement, as his panic started to really set in. Suddenly he had no problem moving and wiggled until Kento practically dropped him.

"No," he said, voice still weak as he looked towards the mountains. The others looked on in surprise as Ryo jumped to his feet and took off running with strength none of them knew he still had.

"Ryo, wait!" Sage yelled, being the first to recover from his shock. "He's going to break that ankle if he doesn't watch it!" With that said, Sage took off after Ryo, surprised once again at the speed Ryo had left in him. For someone as injured as he was, Ryo ran like the devil himself were chasing him.

"I told you!" Kento accused as he and the rest of the group took off after Ryo.

"He's not going to stop," Sage said suddenly, startling the others. "His mind is clouded with panic. He's not thinking clearly."

"Why would- White Blaze!" Cye answered his own question. "He must know where they are."

"Hey Raye?" Rowen called over his shoulder. Raye sent him a questioning look before he continued. "Who is Ameena?"

Raye glanced at the four guys running with her and knew they didn't know any more than she did. Looks like they all had to ask Ryo. "I don't know, he never told me. All I know is she's important to him, I've told you this already," she yelled back. She turned her attention back to Ryo to see he was already at the base of the mountain. How the hell? He ran past the first two caves entrances, but he had hesitated before moving on to the third. Once he got to the third entrance, he ran in without looking back.

"We have to catch up with him!" Kento called out to the others, worry creeping back into his voice.

* * *

_Hang on guys, I'm coming! _Ryo thought frantically. _Have to hurry, they're going to take Ameena soon, I can feel it. I won't loose anyone else because I wasn't fast enough. I don't have anymore time!_

Ryo couldn't help but panic now. He knew it wouldn't help him in the least, but it was still there. The shape-shifters were angry, he could feel it. Ameena and White Blaze would be killed because of his damned temper if he didn't get to them first. He had to get to them first, he didn't think he could bear anyone else dying because of him. If he lost anyone else, he wouldn't be able to make himself believe his own lies anymore. His illusions that have kept him from falling apart this long, would disappear. He'd have nothing left.

He saw the sky turning a dark greenish black as he ran past the cave he'd escaped from earlier. He ran right past the second entrance as well, heading to the third without a second thought. He didn't think about where he was going, just as long as he kept moving. He suddenly felt a wave of fear from Ameena that made him hesitate briefly before entering the cave.

Ryo picked up his pace even more once he knew he was close. He knew the shape-shifters were too, he had to get there first! He reached a fork deep within the caves and went to the left as though the path to the right didn't exist. He practically flew around a corner and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw White Blaze laying on the floor, chains around his legs.

* * *

"He went in the third one," Raye called as they approached the caves.

"Come on, we have to catch up with him before something happens. He's in no condition for a fight right now," Sage said as it started to rain. As soon as the last person in their group was safely within the cave, the clouds gave way and it started pouring. _That's not good. Ryo's too weak for cold rain right now. We'll have to be quick in getting back to the cars._

They had only made it half the distance Ryo had when they noticed White Blaze running towards them. Ryo was sitting on the tiger's back wrapped in a blanket he'd gotten from… Somewhere, and paler now than any of them had ever seen him. Had something happened before they'd caught up with him? And where was this Ameena person? Maybe they didn't make it in time to help her…

"Lets go," Ryo said as the tiger ran past them, his voice now absent of any emotion.

"Right," Rowen said hesitantly before they all followed him out into the rain.


	6. Chapter 5

******A short one, but an update none the less! Kind of a transition chapter I guess.**

**Edited and re-posted 2/10/2012**

* * *

~~~Chapter 5

"Ryo, get in the damn car! You really don't need to be out in the rain," Cye argued with a stubborn Ryo. Well, argue wasn't really the word, Ryo would have to reply for it to be considered arguing, Ryo had done very well to keep his opinions to himself thus far. Ryo had simply ignored his friend's pleas, his eyes glued to the road before him as White Blaze ran.

"Oh fine, be that way!" Cye called out in frustration, finally giving up. He rolled his window up and sat back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. "I still don't get it. He knows he's only going to make himself sick staying out in that rain. He wasn't exactly in prime condition before staying in the rain this time. Why does he have to be so stubborn all of the time?"

"If he wasn't, he wouldn't be Ryo," Rowen pointed out.

"He wants to stay awake," Sage said quietly from the front passenger's seat. He felt his friends watching him, but kept his focus out the window and on Ryo, trying to read him better before explaining.

"Uh… Sage?" Rowen started, urging Sage to continue. He was trying his best to keep his focus on driving and finding it difficult to stay truly focused at this point. His own thoughts kept running back to Ryo and their current situation.

"I'm still trying to read him. His mind is a jumbled mess right now, partially from that concussion, he can't focus. The only thought I can make out is that he wants to- no, needs to stay awake until we get to Mia's."

"That's it?" Kento asked incredulously.

"Yeah," Sage sighed, watching Ryo. He had agreed with Cye, even though he hadn't voiced his opinion. Ryo was only making it worse for himself by riding the tiger in the pouring rain. He could already see that Ryo had grown pale… Much paler than he'd originally thought possible, and was shivering visibly; this only added to his concerns for Ryo. They still had roughly another hour ahead of them before they'd reach Mia's house. Sage was beginning to wonder if Ryo was going to make it that far without falling off White Blaze in exhaustion.

"You're not getting anything else from him?" Kento persisted. "He was so angry earlier, you're not even picking up on that anymore? Relief that he's gotten away from those things? Weariness? Anything?"

"Nothing. I can't even tell if he truly feels the cold. I'm just assuming from the amount of shivering that he's cold," Sage replied, somewhat exasperated because he knew Kento was right. He should be able to pick up on more than that, but he couldn't. It was almost as though Ryo himself were blocking him. As far as Sage knew, Ryo couldn't do that, didn't know how.

"Any ideas on what happened to him since we saw him last?" Rowen finally asked, speaking up once again. He cast a quick glance at his friends, then out the window at their very stubborn leader.

"I'm not sure…" Cye started, then stopped to think for a moment. He watched Ryo again, trying to pinpoint something. "He seems different somehow, I just can't place what's different."

"I know what you mean," Kento spoke, rubbing his hands against his face. "He was definitely different when I found him near the caves."

"How so?" Sage inquired, turning in his seat to face Kento. Rowen watched as best he could through the rear view while Cye turned as well.

"He wasn't really paying attention to anything at first, I snuck up on him and all I did was walk right up to him. He was quick to give in too, now that I think about it. Before he knew it was me, he pretty much said he'd come quietly if I didn't attack him. After he knew it was me and I asked if he was alright…" he paused momentarily, "It didn't take much for him to rattle off his injuries either," Kento practically whispered.

"Seriously?" Rowen questioned in disbelief, his eyes bulging. Kento only nodded his reply this time. "Damn. That's not like Ryo. We have to find out what happened to him."

Sage's gaze went back out the window, settling on Ryo once more. He could have sworn that he'd felt something from Ryo just a moment ago, but for the life of him, he couldn't place what it was.

"So, I take it Raye is following us to Mia's?" Cye asked quietly. Rowen nodded silently, thinking about what Kento had told them. Something just didn't make sense and that bothered him.

Sage noticed that the car had grown silent, which was probably best, in his opinion anyway. Let them think on what could be upsetting Ryo, it gave him the focus he needed to try reading Ryo once more. So that's what he set about doing, trying to learn more on what happened to Ryo by probing his mind through the link. It took a while, and much more concentration than he'd ever had to use before, but it seemed to be working. He'd get just glimpses of emotion and shadows of thoughts from Ryo, none of them staying long enough for him to make any sense of them. It wasn't until Ryo had finally turned to face Sage that Sage gasped in surprise. Ryo had made direct eye contact for a moment before looking ahead at the road once more, one single thought made it through to Sage during that moment. _They're still here, they haven't left yet. Why?_

"What is it Sage?" Sage heard Kento ask. He was vaguely aware of someone shaking his shoulder. "Sage, snap out of it!"

"Sorry," he mumbled. "He surprised me."

"How?" Rowen questioned, raising an eyebrow. You couldn't surprise Sage, you just couldn't.

"He was surprised that we were here," Sage whispered.

"He… Wait, what?" Cye asked, his confusion obvious.

"What, he wants us to leave him alone? Or he thought we would? Or…" Rowen started.

"I'm not sure," Sage replied, eyes glued to Ryo, trying to pick up that train of thought that had startled him so. "I'm not entirely sure it was a conscious thought, it wasn't angry… Just surprised, if not curious."

* * *

_They're still here, they haven't left yet. Why?_ Ryo thought to himself in pure wonder as he locked gazes with Sage. He felt Sage's surprise and immediately looked away. He hadn't expected them to stay as long as they did, so seeing them still next to him had surprised him. He thought it'd be comforting to seem them there still, but it wasn't. It just left a dull ache in his chest, one that he'd thought had finally faded. Maybe moving back had been a mistake, he wasn't sure he was ready to face his past, but he'd promised Mia he'd come back, even if only for a little while. He owed her that much after everything she'd done for them, for him.

He wanted to run more than anything. Wanted to outrun the memories that were quickly gaining on him. He didn't think he could face the things that'd happened without his friends. Yes, they may be here now, but he knew it wouldn't last for very long. If they were still with him by the time he made it to Mia's he'd really be surprised, but he'd blame it on exhaustion, and nothing more. He wanted to say he'd gotten used to them not being there, used to not hearing from them, but he knew it'd be a lie. He didn't think he'd ever get used to it, and he didn't want to. He didn't have a choice. He could still talk with Mia, much like he had been doing over the last three years while he was living in America. He'd told her about the things he'd seen, the things that he thought the guys would have liked, but that was the closest he'd come to talking about the guys before changing the subject or dropping the conversation completely. It had hurt too much to talk about them, especially to Mia. Then he'd mentioned Ameena. That was part of why Ryo had agreed to come back, Mia wanted to meet Ameena. He'd felt like Mia was the only thing he had left, aside from White Blaze and Ameena, so he'd agreed to Mia's request. This would be his first time seeing her in three years. First time talking to her in person in three years and she'd be helping him heal, demanding that he rest. He cursed himself at that thought. This wasn't why he came back, not so she could patch up his hurt like she used to. She'd be doing that anyway, whether he liked it or not. She'd make him talk about the guys some way or another. She had to know what had happened by now.

He had half a mind then and there to go to his apartment instead of Mia's. He wouldn't do it though. They weren't that far from her house anymore, his apartment… Well, it wasn't exactly near her place. Not much longer and he could sleep for as long as he needed, Mia would see to that. She wouldn't pester him by checking on him every couple hours as Cye and Kento would have, or insist that he should take some medicine and read something to get his mind on other things as Rowen would have suggested. She wouldn't try getting him to meditate to help him focus on getting better as Sage would have done, she would leave him to his own devices and wait until he asked for something. The thought made Ryo's chest ache again. He wanted the guys there, no matter how much they'd bugged him when he was sick or injured in the past. He, once again, wanted something he couldn't have, and it was no one's fault but his own. That thought alone almost broke him. He hadn't been good enough.

He chocked back a sob now, cursing himself silently once more. This was why he hadn't returned sooner, the memories were too much for him to deal with alone. Ever since that day… He was a mess now and he knew it. He didn't know what else to do though. It shouldn't have gotten as hard as it did, he used to be on his own, before the guys. Why was it so damn hard to go it alone now?

"Because you got used to having company," Ryo muttered aloud. "You got used to having someone to talk to, even when you didn't want to talk. Damn them for leaving me alone. And damn me for not stopping them…" he whispered, trying to fight the tears that were, now more than ever, determined to fall.

* * *

Sage had just given up for now, and sat back in his seat, closing his eyes. He'd try talking with Ryo later, see if maybe he could find out just what was going on. The whole situation had him on edge, and he couldn't pinpoint why. None of Ryo's actions made any sense either. One minute he'd talk to them, the next he's ignoring them, like they weren't there. Maybe they deserved some of that, they did abandon him after all… But Ryo didn't ignore people, he couldn't. He'd always felt guilty anytime he'd treated someone badly, even if they had deserved it. It just went against his nature. So why the change now? Did it have something to do with what happened to him over the past three years? Sage found himself praying that it would only be temporary, that once they got to really talk to Ryo, everything would be explained and everything would be okay again. Somehow, deep down he knew it wasn't going to be that easy, not this time. This wouldn't be something that every one could brush off and pretend it had never happened, that much was apparent just by looking at Ryo.

He tried, he really did, but he just couldn't get himself to calm down, couldn't relax. Sage opened his eyes and rested them upon Ryo's form once more. The rain was coming down in heavy sheets now and he could barely see Ryo and White Blaze next to them. If he wasn't mistaken, Ryo was now leaning forward, almost laying on the tiger's back.

"He's not going to last much longer in this," Sage said, not realizing he'd spoken aloud.

Rowen jumped slightly at Sage's comment, having thought Sage was meditating. He quickly glanced out Sage's window to get a good look at Ryo before responding. Once he spotted Ryo, he knew Sage was right. "I guess it's a good thing we're only a few miles out now. We should probably call Mia and let her know we're coming."

"I've already tried, the phone lines are down. This storm probably knocked them out," Cye replied, holding up a cell phone. "I just hope she still has power, if not it's going to be fun trying to get Ryo warmed up and dried off without a fight."

"There's still the fireplace," Kento reminded him.

"No there's not," Cye answered, sounding slightly annoyed.

Before Kento could argue, Sage spoke up. "He's right. The fireplace won't do any good without some firewood."

"What are you going on about?" Kento demanded, leaning forward in his seat. "There's plenty of firewood!"

"Yes, there is… Sitting outside in the pouring rain next to the back porch because someone got distracted and didn't bring it in. Can you light wet wood Kento?" Sage asked, closing his eyes once more.

"I… well damn," he replied with a sigh. He scratched the back of his head and gave Rowen a lopsided grin. Rowen simply shook his head and turned his attention back to the road. Kento eventually sank back into his seat and thought back on earlier. The guys were right, a lot of things just didn't add up now that he really thought on it. Like Ryo's reaction earlier, he'd appeared more shocked at seeing Kento than anything. He didn't really look happy or relieved, just shocked. Why? Ryo had lost a shit load of weight and his eyes looked dull, he had been very distant. Why? Ryo didn't explain much of anything, now that he thought about what was said. He'd said enough to answer the questions asked, but not to explain them. Why? That same damn 'why' kept coming up and Kento didn't have an answer. He could only hope that with some food and after some rest, Ryo would enlighten them, answer the 'why's' they all had. Till then, all he could do was ask himself the same questions over and over, hoping to find some answers in the silence.

* * *

**I told you it was a short one, but it was needed for the story to continue the way I want it to. Anyone have any ideas on what's going on in my twisted little world? lol. Like I said, the last chapter 'hinted' at the new twist I was throwing in. If you've caught on to my wave length, then this chapter will make a lot more sense to you than to every one else. As always, please review! Till next time! **


	7. Chapter 6

**OMG! I've updated! I'm not dead! lol. Here's another one from me to you! :D Still don't own anything. Wait! Yes I do! Ameena is mine! Hahaha! I own something! Okay, on with the story now. Well... Stop reading this and read the story. Off you go. Bye. See you later. You go now! *poof***

**Edited and re-posted 2/10/2012**

* * *

~~~Chapter 6

"We're almost there, right?" Kento questioned, leaning forward in his seat. He sounded worried, his face had grown pale and his eyes wider than any of them had ever seen them. He kept his eyes out the window, refusing to look at the others in the car.

"Yeah, Kento," Cye replied, eyes still closed as he rested. "Why? What's up? Hungry again?" he joked, trying to lighten the mood in the car. Kento's reply would completely ruin any chance of that.

"No. I think Ryo's hit his limit," Kento answered seriously while pointing out the window. Sage's eyes flew open and focused on the dark haired warrior out in the rain. Ryo was practically laying on White Blaze now, his eyes closed. He'd quit moving and looked dangerously close to falling off.

"Shit. Just hang on a few more minutes, Ryo," Rowen said, subconsciously pressing the gas pedal a little harder than before.

Ryo opened his eyes to the barest of slits when he finally realized White Blaze was trying to get his attention. "What is it boy?" Ryo asked, hand barely moving to scratch his tiger's ears. After another soft growl, he slowly lifted his head, barely making out Mia's house ahead of them through the falling rain. "We're here," he mumbled softly, then closed his eyes once more. He'd never felt so tired in his entire life and never as cold as he felt now. He wanted nothing more than to sleep for all eternity, and then some.

White Blaze roared again, louder his time. He knew how close Ryo was to sleeping. He also knew if Ryo fell asleep, he might not wake up again, not with the condition he was in right now.

"I'm awake Blaze, promise," he whispered, his voice faint. He barely noticed White Blaze's nod, and completely missed the fact that the tiger's pace had doubled. After a few more minutes he felt White Blaze stop, then kneel down so he could climb, or in this case roll, off. "M'kay Blaze."

He heard a noise that he knew he should recognize as he slid off White Blaze, but he was much too tired to care that he just plain didn't know what he was hearing. He closed his eyes momentarily as the world spun around him, leaning heavily on his tiger companion. White Blaze looked up at his charge then and knew he had to hurry in getting Ryo inside, so he urged Ryo forward. Once they got to the door, Ryo brought up a loose fist to knock, then realized he just didn't have the strength to knock hard enough for anyone to hear him. He started to turn around, then stopped once he heard someone calling him.

"Mia?" he questioned softly, his eyes still half closed.

"You're soaked!" she cried out in surprise, looking them both up and down. She saw the worried gleam in White Blaze's eyes and her own eyes widened in fear. "Get in here!"

"M'k," he agreed, his voice no more than a whisper.

Mia immediately grabbed a hand full of the blanket Ryo was wrapped in to pull him inside when he didn't move. She looked back out the door once, noticing the two cars pulling in the drive and left the door ajar. "Come on, you need to get dried off, Ryo," Mia said, leading him towards the stairs. Once there, Ryo simply stared at the stairs, as if asking what they were doing there.

"Go on, go get yourself dried up." Ryo nodded slowly, then moved even slower in his quest to climb the stairs, all the while leaning heavily on White Blaze. Mia stood at the base of the stairs, watching her friend struggle to make it up the stairs. She almost went after him, but stopped when she heard the front door close.

"Where'd Ryo go?" Rowen questioned when they found Mia watching the empty staircase.

"Upstairs, to dry off," she answered, turning around to face them. She wished now more than ever that the tiger could talk so she could understand him, because the guys didn't look near as worried as White Blaze had. Something was wrong. "What happened?"

"We aren't really sure. He didn't say much," Cye answered, looking at the top of the stairs.

"Hmm…" Mia glanced in the direction Ryo had gone once more before facing her friends again. "Well, come on, I'll make us some tea," she said as she lead the group to the kitchen. Everyone settled down around the table while Mia set about making the tea. As the group started fidgeting in their silence, Raye grew more and more nervous. Mia kept quiet for the most part, waiting to see if anyone would start talking. They never did stay quiet for long, someone was always thinking aloud, this time was different and it worried her. After a few more minutes of silence, she finally turned around again. "So," she started as she rested her eyes upon the one person she didn't know, "What's your name?"

"Huh? Me?" Raye asked, looking up in surprise. When Mia nodded with a small smile, she answered. "I'm Raye."

"Raye?" Mia questioned, looking a little more than surprised herself. "The Raye?"

"What are you talking about, Mia?" Rowen asked, stating the group's confusion.

Mia simply waved off Rowen's question and continued to watch Raye. "Ryo's sister, Raye?" Raye nodded slowly since her voice seamed to have left her momentarily.

"How did you…?" Kento started, his eyes wide.

"Ryo told me a little about her," Mia answered then stopped when she saw the surprise on their faces. "What? He didn't tell any of you he had a sister?"

"No, actually, he didn't," Cye replied, shaking his head slowly.

"It would appear that he's told you more than he's told us," Sage commented, but before he could continue, Raye interrupted him.

"Why would he tell you anything after you guys dropped him three years ago?" Raye demanded, her anger at them finally returning.

"I told you, that wasn't our fault!" Kento declared, jumping up so fast his chair toppled. Mia's surprise immediately switched over to confusion as she watched the group before her grow tense and angry.

"Oh, so I suppose you tore that place apart looking for any trace of him before leaving then?" Raye demanded, standing up now as well.

"Well…" Kento faltered.

"Then how was it not your fault?" Raye almost yelled.

"Whoa, what are you talking about?" Mia questioned. Maybe this had something to do with why the guys hadn't mentioned Ryo in three years, and why Ryo changed the subject every time she mentioned the guys. Did they get into a fight or something? Were they angry with each other, is that what this was all about? Mia looked at the group expectantly. Raye and Kento both grew silent, Rowen and Cye looked anywhere but at Mia. Sage had closed his eyes again, resting his head in his hands and took a deep breath. "Well?"

"A little under three years ago there was a fight on the outskirts of the city. Remember those old warehouses where we caught up with Ryo fighting Saranbo?" Sage asked. Mia nodded, knowing Sage wouldn't see it as his eyes were still closed. "That's where this one took place. We hadn't fought this enemy before, I'm not even sure where he came from. He was powerful, more powerful than we'd originally thought." Sage shook his head now, falling into his memories. "It was raining, much like it is now and we were quickly losing the fight. We all got pulled away from Ryo somehow, he got cornered into fighting alone. Next thing we knew he was in just his sub armor, then his street clothes. We tried to get to him, to block anymore attacks directed towards him but he was thrown into one of the warehouses before we could get to him…" Sage trailed off there. Somewhere during his retelling of events, Mia had sat down and was now watching him intently.

"What happened then?" she asked when Sage stopped.

"The building just exploded," Rowen said. Even with how quietly as he spoke, Mia and Raye still jumped. "We didn't have time to get to him before the explosion. We couldn't get anywhere near the building. We were going to go back for him, but we felt his armor disappear. We felt him die through the armor's bond."

"Wait," Mia interrupted incredulously. "You're saying Ryo was killed? That doesn't make any sense. None of that makes any sense."

"Well, he obviously wasn't killed. The question is why did our armors tell us he was dead?" Cye spoke up.

"No, not just that. You said just under three years ago, right?" Mia asked. The guys just nodded now. "We need to find out more about who you were fighting then."

"Why's that, Mia?" Rowen questioned. He was beginning to think Mia knew more than what she was telling them.

"Because Ryo wasn't here at that time. He went to England almost three and a half years ago, he just moved back two weeks ago. He wasn't here for that fight," Mia said, starting to stand up once again.

"He wasn't here?" Kento asked slowly, letting that information sink in. "Wait, you knew he was alive this whole time and didn't say anything?"

"You never told me about any of this till now, how was I supposed to know you thought he was dead? Besides, any time I mentioned him, you guys changed the subject on me," Mia replied. "So what do you know about what happened recently? Why he looks the way he does right now?"

"Like we said, we don't really know. He was in the mountains when we found him," Cye answered.

"Hey Mia, do you know who Ameena is?" Sage questioned.

"Ameena? What about her?" Mia asked, stunned to hear that name from them.

"That's who Ryo was looking for. He said that the guys he was fighting up there took White Blaze and Ameena," Kento answered.

"She's here?" Mia exclaimed. She quickly left the room before anyone could ask another question.

"Mia?" Cye called after her.

"What was that all about?" Rowen asked. The rest of the group just shrugged.

"Should we follow her?" Kento asked, eyes on the door.

* * *

"Ryo? Can I come in?" Mia asked from the hallway after knocking on Ryo's door. She waited a moment before raising her hand to knock again. Before her knuckles met the wood, she heard White Blaze growl softly from within the room. She quickly opened the door without waiting for an answer from Ryo. Once inside Mia saw White Blaze sitting next to the bed on the far side of the room. Ryo was laying on the second bed, facing the wall and wrapped in a blanket.

"Ryo? You awake?" Mia questioned as she quickly crossed the room. "Ryo?" Mia reached out a hand to shake his shoulder then pulled away when she felt the wet blanket. Ryo hadn't dried off, or changed for that matter. He was still soaking wet and now freezing cold, his lips now held a slight blue tint.

"Ryo, you have to wake up!" she said, shaking his shoulders roughly now, her main reason for checking on him forgotten. Ryo mumbled something weakly but made no other move towards getting up. "White Blaze, go get the guys, and hurry." She went back to shaking Ryo until he finally opened one eye a crack.

"You need to stay awake, got it?" Mia demanded. Ryo lay still for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Why didn't you change into dry clothes?" she asked in an attempt to keep him awake. She glanced at the door when the others finally came in, then turned her attention back to Ryo without answering the questioning looks the guys were giving her.

"Won't leave her alone again," Ryo mumbled softly between chattering teeth. "Won't do it."

"Won't leave who alone, Ryo?" Mia questioned.

"I think the cold has gotten to him, he's delirious," Kento said seriously from the doorway. Mia glanced up then and sent a look to Kento that very clearly said 'shut up' before looking at Ryo once more.

"I'm not so sure about that," Mia said softly, watching Ryo carefully.

"Ameena," he whispered, his eyes closing once more.

"I told you to stay awake!" Mia exclaimed, then noticed Ryo's death grip on the blanket encasing him. "Rowen, Sage, go get some dry towels and another blanket. Cye and Raye, go downstairs and get two cups of tea and soup please. Kento, you stay here," Mia ordered then focused solely on Ryo while everyone went about the tasks she'd given. She started to pull away the blanket but stopped when Ryo wouldn't let it go. "Ryo, let go of the blanket. You're safe here, remember?" she asked softly. Kento gave them a funny look as he came closer to the bed, curiosity getting the best of him.

Ryo lifted his head slowly and looked Mia in the eyes.

"Do you trust me?" she asked. He watched her for a moment before finally nodding. "Then let go." After another minute, he finally did as told and released his grip on the blanket. Kento watched curiously as Mia took a deep breath then lifted the edge of the blanket so only she could see beneath it. After a moment she smiled softly. "That's what I thought."

"Mia?" Kento questioned as he came around to her side. He looked down and saw what Mia was smiling at and his jaw hit the floor. "Holy sh-"

"Kento, you hold her while we wait for those blankets. He's trying to keep her warm, but his body temp isn't high enough to help her," Mia said as she gently lifted the small black haired child away from Ryo. Ryo whimpered softly in protest, but made no move to prevent Mia from taking the girl.

"Maybe it wasn't so much to keep her warm as it was to keep himself warm," Kento said quietly as he took the small girl from Mia.

"That's what I'm afraid of, Kento," Mia admitted as she crossed the room once more, this time going to the dresser.

"What are you doing?" Kento asked.

"Getting some dry clothes."

"He still has clothes here?" Kento asked in surprise. Mia only nodded as she pulled out two shirts and a pair of pajama bottoms. When she got back to Ryo's side, Rowen and Sage appeared with the blanket and towels.

"Alright, this was the only spare blanket we could find, but there were… plenty… of…" Rowen trailed off, looking just as surprised as Sage at the moment. "Where did she come from?" he asked, referring to the child in Kento's arms.

Mia simply ignored the question and grabbed a towel from Sage, then headed back over to Kento. "I'll take her now. You guys get Ryo dry and help him get changed." Kento handed the girl over to Mia while Rowen and Sage nodded dumbly.

"Here's the soup and tea, Mia," Cye said, walking into the room with Raye right beside him.

"Who's that?" Raye questioned, spotting the child as well.

"Just set it down right there," Mia said softly, pointing to the night stand.

Cye sent Kento a questioning look. Rowen and Sage shrugged and continued to strip Ryo of his shirt and pants while Kento held Ryo in a sitting position and kept him from falling asleep. "Not sure, but Ryo was holding her under that blanket he found." Kento spoke.

"This," Mia started, now that everyone was in the room, "is Ameena." Mia had just pulled the clean shirt over the girl's head and was now letting Ameena sit on the empty bed. The little girl just sat there, watching the three guys dry off Ryo. She'd looked up at Mia when she heard the woman say her name, then looked away again when she saw everyone watching her.

"That's Ameena? How do you…?" Raye asked, sitting on the edge of the bed as well.

"Ryo sent me a picture of her earlier this year," Mia answered, watching Ameena.

"But… Who is she?" Kento asked the question they had all been thinking. Well, everyone but Mia.

"Ryo will have to tell you that, when he feels up to it that is," Mia said, glancing at Ryo. He was in no condition to do much of anything. It was going to be a challenge to keep him awake long enough to get him to eat the soup before it got cold. Someone would have to carry him downstairs so he could warm up in front of the fireplace. She'd seen all the wood outside earlier that day and brought some in, knowing Ryo would be coming some time that week. Now she was glad that she did because if she hadn't, Ryo would be worse off than he already was.

Mia looked over at Ameena when she felt the mattress sink in gently next to her. Ameena had found the soup on the night stand and had decided to investigate. Mia chuckled quietly before picking the little girl up. "Are you hungry?" Ameena looked at the soup then Mia, then back at the soup again. After a moment she nodded quickly.

"How old is she, Mia?" Raye finally asked.

"Three I believe," Mia answered, looking at Ameena.

"I tree!" Ameena said holding up two fingers with a big smile, her big blue eyes just as bright as Ryo's. Mia couldn't help but laugh out loud this time at the enthusiasm Ameena had over her age. Mia looked over at Ryo again and noticed him watching her and Ameena. He looked almost afraid, but Mia couldn't figure out why. She had so many questions she wanted to ask him but she knew that now wasn't the time. He probably wouldn't know what she was talking about right now, he didn't really seem to know where he was. She wasn't even sure he knew who all was in the room with him. She watched quietly as Sage pulled the dry shirt over Ryo's head, frowning slightly when she realized Ryo had yet to look at any of his friends. There's more to this than even the guys know. Why did Ryo just take off like he did? That wasn't like him, it wasn't like him at all. Something happened to him, something scared him, shook him to the core… But what the hell was it?

"Okay, he's as dry as he's going to get right now," Rowen stated as Sage and Cye eased Ryo back onto the mattress.

"Good. Kento, could you take Ameena downstairs with you? Put in a movie or something for her. If someone could get a fire going, that'd be great. I brought some of the wood in this morning. I'm going to try getting Ryo to eat before we take him downstairs."

"Do you need any help, Mia?" Raye questioned.

"No thanks, just help them watch over her," she said gesturing toward the child Kento was now holding. Ameena watched Ryo as they left the room, then could be heard fussing a little when she couldn't see him anymore. Mia waited quietly until everyone was gone, and she sat alone with Ryo and White Blaze. White Blaze growled softly, causing Mia to look at Ryo once more.

"No, I don't think so Ryo, you're staying right here for a little while. Nothing is going to happen to her here," Mia said softly, sitting next to Ryo on the bed. Ryo looked at her for a moment, then back at the door. A moment later, he focused on Mia once again.

"K," Ryo whispered softly, then slowly closed his eyes.

"No, not just yet, Ryo," she said, gently shaking him awake. "You need to eat something, then we're going downstairs too. You can sleep in front of the fire."

"Fire good."

Mia couldn't help but laugh at that. She helped Ryo to sit up so he could eat, or attempt to eat, his soup. He ended up eating half of it. Mia thought about pushing him to eat more, then really looked him over. After taking in his appearance, she decided that what he had eaten was better than nothing and she'd leave it at that. For now.

After letting Ryo rest a bit longer, Mia helped Ryo to stand. White Blaze was immediately on Ryo's other side and stayed there until they had made it downstairs. The tiger then went straight to the living room and laid down next to the fireplace. Mia simply shook her head at the tiger, then glanced at Ryo once more. His eyes were closed again and he was leaning heavily on her for support. She knew he wouldn't be able to remain awake much longer, he was quickly losing that battle as it was. He needed sleep, she could see that much, she just hoped that they didn't lose him in his sleep.

* * *

**So... That was that. As always, let me know what you thought. Laters. **


	8. Chapter 7

**So here's the long awaited new chapter. Sorry for taking so long, been in and out of the doctor much like most of my co-workers. So I was either home in bed, or working for someone else who was at home in bed. It's kinda on the short side, but it's an update nonetheless!**

**Edited and re-posted 2/10/2012**

* * *

~~~Chapter 7

Ryo stood still, swords drawn and ready as an eerie darkness closed in around him. He was nervous… Well, nervous was too light of a word, terrified fit better, but he'd never admit that he was downright terrified, not to anyone. So he stood there, eyes darting in the unnatural darkness enveloping him. He didn't know where the darkness had come from, it just came. He'd just gone out for a walk, he had needed a break from his crazy friends, just a few hours to himself for a change. This wasn't what he had in mind. Now he'd give just about anything for them to be there, but a little voice inside his head said he wouldn't be seeing them for a long time, if ever again. He just had an awful feeling deep down in his gut, he knew without a doubt that something wasn't right, he just couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe if he could actually** _see_** his fingers…

The sound of something moving to his left broke his thoughts and he spun around. His eyes searching wildly for something that couldn't be seen. He cursed silently to himself for leaving the house without company when he'd already had feeling something bad would happen that day. He should have shut himself in his room rather than going out, alone. He could have gone to the basement and practiced some more, or put in a movie, anything other than what he'd decided on. Anything would have been a better choice, he knew this now and was cursing himself for not making the 'smart' decision. If only he'd known it then too.

* * *

"I don't like this one bit," Rowen said, finally speaking up. He'd been sitting in the living room with the others for the past couple hours, watching a sleeping Ryo. He hadn't moved once since falling asleep and that just wasn't like him at all. He was fall too still and it put everyone on edge.

"I know, Rowen, none of us like it," Mia said softly while brushing Ameena's hair. The little girl just sat quietly in her lap, eyes glued to Ryo. Raye sat in the over sized armchair closest to Ryo, watching him as well. Cye was on the couch with Rowen and Sage, while Mia and Kento were sitting on the loveseat. Cye had gotten up a few times only to circle the room then sit right back down. Kento had thought of teasing Cye for this, then would glace at Ryo again and just couldn't get himself to say anything. Sage had taken to meditating again, in hopes of getting some answers since Ryo wasn't talking. Kento simply shook his head and stood silently. He stretched for a moment, then slowly made his way to Ryo's side, his curiosity once again getting the best of him.

"What's up, Kento?" Cye questioned, watching Kento's face for any reaction. Kento only shook his head again, not looking up. "Kento?"

"He's pale…" Kento finally murmured.

"He's sick, he was out in the rain too long, of course he's pale," Rowen stated with a touch of annoyance from the couch.

"It's not just his face," Kento sighed. "His tan is gone, it almost looks like he never goes outside anymore, or not in the sun at least. His lips aren't blue anymore though, that's good, right?"

"Yeah…" Rowen trailed off, thinking about what Kento had just said. "Mia?"

"Hmm?" Mia looked at Rowen, waiting for him to continue.

"What did you and Ryo talk about over the last three years? You said he sent you a picture of her," he said, gesturing towards the now sleeping child she held. "What else was there? Did he say anything about jobs, friends, family…"

"I know he was in England the he went to America. He spoke of places he'd visited that he thought you guys might like. He talked about going back to school, but I don't think he went. I know he had a job where he got to work with animals, said Ameena loved when she got to go with him. Um…" Mia paused then, her eyes suddenly sad.

"What is it, Mia? What else did he say?" Sage asked, no longer meditating but watching his friends.

Mia glanced at Ryo, then Ameena, then at Ryo again. She sighed heavily before answering the question. "He said he was tired. He didn't know how much longer he could do this."

"Do what?" Sage questioned, now watching Ryo.

"I'm not sure. When I questioned him on it, he said never mind, it wasn't important. That was when he'd mentioned Ameena for the first time. I'm not sure he'd meant to tell me about her, more like it was all he could think of to change the subject. Much like you four have over this last year, every time I mentioned you guys, he'd change the subject. He'd start talking about her instead. I don't know what happened before he left, but I think we need to find out once he's better. You guys need to figure out who you were fighting as well, maybe there's something we're missing," Mia suggested.

"Most likely," Rowen snorted. Cye just glared at him. "Well, come on, think about it. Ryo takes off for no reason, at least none that we know of, six months later we see him getting beat to a pulp and die. Two and a half years later he's back and fighting something that we didn't know was in the area, he's barely talking to us, he looks half dead and that was before the trip in the rain. There's a really big something that we've missed and it's buggin the hell outta me that we don't know what it is. Bugs me even more that he didn't tell us."

"He has a point there, Cye," Sage agreed. "There's a lot that doesn't add up about this whole thing. The main question that's got me stumped is why would someone want us to think Ryo was dead if he was already gone to being with? Why go to all the trouble of a fake battle if he wasn't even in the country?"

"Now there's a question," Kento murmured, watching his sleeping friend closely.

"Hey Kento?" Mia questioned softly. Once Kento looked to her, she continued. "How did he look when you found him? I mean, what was his reaction?"

Kento looked thoughtful for a moment before his eyes widened slightly. "Surprised at first, then if I'm not mistaken, guilty. He turned away too quick to be sure. When he looked back, it was gone."

Mia sat quietly at thought that over. Ryo had looked guilty, that sounds like Ryo, but why would he look guilty now? What had happened to make him feel guilty? Was it for leaving the way he had? Maybe it was because he hadn't told them he was coming back and they'd found him… Now she thought more on the phone conversations they'd had. _He was tired, he didn't know how much longer he could do this. He'd said he couldn't quit just yet though, someone had to take care of Ameena. What if he doesn't fight this?_ Mia thought in horror. He had to fight this, had to get better, but he knew that Mia would take care of Ameena should anything happen to him. It was an unsaid agreement, but he wouldn't bail now… Would he?

"Mia? Are you alright?" Raye asked quietly from across the room.

"Hmm?" Mia looked up quickly, then noticed everyone watching her. "What is it?"

"That's what we were wondering. You looked worried about something," Cye replied.

"Oh, just thinking," Mia mumbled, more to herself than her friends.

"About what?" Rowen pressed.

Mia thought for a moment longer before finally responding. "If Ryo was in a situation he wanted out of, and I mean really wanted out of and suddenly had an out… Do you think he'd take it? Or would he keep fighting to find a better way?" Mia's question silenced the room as they all looked at Ryo in a new light. _Would he really give up now?_


	9. Chapter 8

**Holy shit! I'm really not dead, I have an update! No, really, a new chapter! *Wonders how many people just passed out.* Anyway, it's not super long, but it's hear and I've got some of the next chapter typed already. My muse finally came home. *does the happy dance* So, off you go!**

* * *

~~~Chapter 8

Ryo eyed the darkness warily, straining to hear something, anything that would help him right now. There was something out there, he knew this without a doubt, but what the hell was it? What had followed him away from the house and into the woods? What had taken away the sunlight in the middle of the day? Could something actually do that, take away all possible light? He didn't think so, but he did have an orb the size of a marble that contained a rather large magical suit of armor… Who was he to say it couldn't happen?

Ryo finally took a few hesitant steps forward, feeling the ground before him with his feet as he moved. He'd already tried calling his friends for help through the armor and had yet to hear anything from them, then powered down to his sub armor. Were they lost in this darkness too? That thought made Ryo's blood run cold. Did they follow him after he'd thrown his little fit? He'd been so stupid, throwing a fit over something like that. It wasn't like he didn't know how to swim, he'd seen Kento and Rowen sneaking towards him with that gleam in their eyes, he knew what they were about to do and could have fought it. He didn't though and they tossed him in the lake, and he pitched a fit afterwards then took off. _Stupid, stupid, stupid idiot._

Ryo paused in his memories and looked around again, or tried to at least. He was outside, in the woods, shouldn't he have run into a tree by now? He was stumbling around in the pitch black nothingness and hadn't tripped over a branch or rock, hadn't come across an uneven footpath, just nothing. There was literally nothing around him, and it was starting to freak him out. He took another step, no longer wary of the ground, trying to find some clue as to where he was. A few moments later he heard something that stopped him in his tracks. Very sharp metal scraping against stone. That wasn't his sword, his was sheathed and with his full armor. There was most definitely something out there…

* * *

Mia stood quietly, then turned around to set the sleeping child back down on the loveseat. She couldn't sit still anymore and didn't want to wake the toddler. She looked around the room at her friends, Cye had finally fallen asleep on the couch, where Rowen sat reading quietly and Sage was meditating once again. Kento had left the room earlier, preferring to be in the kitchen. She noticed Raye was gone and couldn't remember her leaving, maybe she snuck off to the bathroom. Mia stretched a little before heading towards the kitchen herself, a small snack sounded good right about now. She could question Kento some more while she was in there.

Kento sat at the large table quietly stirring his long melted ice cream while he continued to think on the events that led to where they were now. He couldn't figure out how they led up to where they were, why things were this way right now. None of it really added up right, and it was slowly pissing him off even more. He glanced down at his bowl in disgust before dropping the spoon into the bowl and pushing it away.

"Never thought I'd see you turn down sweets, Kento. What are you thinking about?" Mia asked as she made her way to the table and sat down across from the young man.

"Ryo, still. It just doesn't add up, none of it."

"Before the fight you thought he died in, when was the last time you guys saw him?" Mia questioned softly as she studied Kento's face.

Kento thought for a moment before answering. "It was towards the end of summer, we were all out by the lake. Ryo was laying in the grass, just soaking up the sun while the rest of us were in the water. We kept trying to get him to join us but he just kept saying no. Rowen and I finally decided Ryo was going swimming whether he wanted to or not. We picked him up and carried him to the lake then threw him in." Kento explained, studying the grains of the wooden table top beneath his hands.

"What happened then?" Mia asked, intrigued. She had leaned forward a bit and folded her hands beneath her chin while Kento spoke.

"Ryo was livid," Rowen said from the doorway, making the other two occupants jump. Sage and Cye stood just behind Rowen, then followed him into the kitchen and sat at the table as well.

"Ryo swam to the dock and got right back out of the water. I'd never seen him that angry over being thrown into the water. He just lost it. He did a lot of yelling then stalked off towards the house. He came back out a few minutes later in dry clothes and headed towards the forest and didn't come back until well after dinner." Rowen explained.

"He was really quiet when he returned, more so than was normal for him," Sage picked up where Rowen left off. "He went straight up to his room without a word to any of us, I think that was the first time he ever really ignored us."

Mia sat there listening quietly with wide eyes, trying to put this together with what she already knew. Maybe if she heard the whole story from them with the little she knew from Ryo, she could figure out what had really happened because it was becoming clearer that no one knew the whole story. She waited a moment for Sage to continue before she finally spoke up. "Sage? Are you alright?"

"Hmm? Yeah, fine," he said quietly, still not looking at anyone in the room. "Anyway, he came back down ten minutes later with his duffle back packed. He mumbled that he was going home for a while and didn't know when he'd be back, then walked out the front door before we could say anything. We got a letter every month for six months, then saw him during that fight. There was nothing after that," Sage finished.

"So he had kept I touch for a while after he left. I wonder why he stopped, he couldn't possibly have know that he'd supposedly died here if he was in England at the time," Mia thought aloud.

"But if he was in England already, was he really the one that was writing to us? The letters had a local postage stamp, not foreign. Maybe whoever was pretending to be Ryo was the one writing the letters too, it would explain why they stopped after that fight," Rowen argued.

"Yes, it would explain that, but it brings up another question," Cye spoke. "If Ryo wasn't the one writing the letters, why didn't he contact us at all after he left? Why did he ignore us completely? He wouldn't have ignored us that long, or even leave the country just because he was mad at being thrown in the lake. I mean, you guys do that to him and least three times every summer."

"He has a point there," Kento commented. Mia nodded in agreement while the others started to think some more on what could have happened.

* * *

He stood still as a statue in his fighting stance, swords at the ready, listening to his surrounds as though his life depended on it. For all he know, it very well could. He could hear someone, or something, circling him, the metal hitting and dragging on the ground around him every so often, gradually coming closer. The chill that had run down his spine earlier had returned and refused to go away this time, the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck were standing on end and his heart was about to burst out of his chest. He would willingly admit now that he was terrified, and wanted nothing more than to be back at the house, playing in the lake with his friends.

A drop of sweat slowly rolled down his spine as the mysterious one drew closer still. His hands trembled ever so slightly as he continued to hold his stance and listen to his opponent come closer. Then silence. He couldn't hear any better than he could see and he knew without a doubt that something was about to happen. He tightened his grip and waited for the inevitable.

* * *

**So, am I confusing you yet? It's about to get more interesting with an unexpected visit in the middle of the night, and someone disappears. Dun, dun, dun! Let me know what you think so far, reviews are loved. Flames however, are fed to my purple and silver dragon, Gizmo.**


	10. Chapter 9

**Now for the part I've been waiting to get to since I started on this story. You guys get to see just how twisted my mind can be. Have fun! lol**

* * *

~Chapter 9

The attack came out of nowhere, hitting him in the side of the head. He was suddenly very thankful for his armor and the darkness, for if that swing had been just a tad lower, he'd probably be headless now. Or pretty damn close to it. His opponent moved silently, having the advantage of knowing where Ryo was standing, leaving him completely defenseless.

"You coward! Afraid of fighting me on equal ground?" Ryo demanded angrily after being struck again and almost losing his footing. "Come out where I can see you!"

His only reply was an eerie hollow laugh and being swung at once more, this time harder than the previous hits. After that, his attacker hit him continuously and all he could do was raise his swords to block any attacks to his face.

_Please, Ancient, help me. I don't know what to do and I can't get a hold of the guys. I can't fight back, I can't see anything. _Ryo pleaded desperately in his mind, hoping someone would hear his cries. After an impossibly long amount of time he finally decided he was done with this. He summoned the full power of his armor and tried to use his armor to see in the black abyss he was currently trapped within.

* * *

"I can't find Raye anywhere, did she leave?" Mia asked the guys as she walked into the living room. They had taken Ryo and Ameena upstairs earlier and put them both in bed so they could sleep without being disturbed. Rowen, Kento, Cye and Sage all looked up in confusion before giving Mia various no's. Cye turned around on the couch and looked out the window.

"Her car's gone," he said sounding surprised. "She never said she was leaving."

"Hmm, maybe she went home to get some stuff?" Mia asked. "Oh well, I'm going to go check on Ryo and Ameena," Mia said before turning around and heading towards the stairs. Mia was only on the third step when she heard a knock at the front door. She frowned in confusion, but turned around and headed for the door anyway. The remaining Ronins stood in the living room doorway, curious as to who had come this far out of the way in this weather to visit. Needless to say their guests were most surprising. Waiting on the front porch in the middle of the night, stood Kayura, Cale, Sekhmet and Dais.

"What the hell?" Kento exclaimed, hands balling into fists as he headed for the door.

"Calm down, Kento. Their on our side now, remember?" Sage said, placing a calming hand on Kento's shoulder.

"Doesn't mean I trust them," Kento mumbled. "I don't like their timing. You guys are up to something," he accused.

"Forgive him, they've had a very long day," Mia said, stepping aside to let the newcomers in.

"There's nothing to forgive," Lady Kayura said as she walked in. She waited until everyone was inside before she spoke again. "I'm afraid we come bearing bad news. We came tonight because you need to hear this, it can't wait till morning. I'm sorry."

"How about we go to the kitchen then, I'll get everyone something to drink," Mia said leading the way.

Ten minutes later with everyone settled and with their drink of choice, Sage spoke up. "So, what is it we need to hear?"

Kayura looked to the warlords that had traveled with her before signaling to Dais to speak. Dais sighed but reluctantly stepped forward. "I've noticed something troubling in this realm as of late. I didn't notice it until recently, about two weeks ago if I had to guess, and today it was unusually strong."

"How could you pick up something here from the nether realm?" Rowen asked curiously.

"We weren't in the nether realm, we've been on this side for some time now," Dais answered. He glanced at Kayura once again, hoping to get out of being the one to explain the situation, but it was a lost cause. They had all agreed before hand that he would be the one to explain as it fell in his area of expertise. He sighed once again, then continued. "As I was saying, today was unusually strong. I first noticed it mid afternoon and it got stronger as the day progressed."

"What are you talking about?" Kento interrupted. He was far to frustrated and impatient for a long explanation and he had a feeling this would be a long one. He should at least know just what the hell he was talking about to begin with.

"Shut up Hardrock and let him explain!" Sekhmet snapped.

"I am the warlord of illusion," Dais started quickly to avoid a fight. He could see one of the Ronins getting ready to point out that they already knew this, and quickly continued. "And being that, I can 'sense' if someone is using a similar attack. Someone has cast a rather large illusion in the area, I just don't know what it is. I can't break through it unless I know who or what it's cast on. Like I said, I first noticed it a couple weeks ago, today was the strongest," Dais finished.

"But why would someone do that? What would be the point of it?" Kento questioned.

"Just how large of an illusion are we talking?" Sage asked, massaging his temples in the process.

"Huge. Larger than I had ever cast on any of you," Dais replied with a frown. "If I'm not mistaken, this one is powerful enough to affect a group of people, rather than one or two." He stopped to think for a moment on how to explain just what he was getting from the energy he'd picked up earlier. "The one I used against two of you, I could only change what you saw in front of you, you saw each other as me." With their nod of understanding, he continued. "This one does so much more than that. If it's on a person, or group of people, it doesn't change _who_ is seen necessarily, but everything else. It's more of who can be _seen_. You could see the person next to you one moment, then they're gone the next, but in reality they're still next to you, you just can see them. This illusion changes things on a larger level, sight, sound, touch, smell, it affects practically all of your senses, whenever the creator wants. The creator literally controls everything," he stated in frustration.

"How is that even possible?" Rowen asked, his face pale.

"I don't know," Dais replied. "I just can't figure out how it was created at this magnitude, it shouldn't be possible."

"You said you first noticed it about two weeks ago?" Mia question, finally joining the conversation after doing a little bit of thinking.

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"What is it Mia, what are you thinking?" Rowen asked.

"Ryo return two weeks ago," she said quietly. "Today was the strongest, today he was in the mountains with all of you, fighting against something. I have a feeling they're all connected."

"She's right," Cye said softly. "I was thinking the same thing. We just happen to find Ryo today after three years, fighting something we didn't even know was in the area, and now we know of an illusion that was cast on a large scale that was stronger today than any other time? It's too much to be a coincidence."

"I have to agree with you," Cale said, surprising the Ronins.

"Where is Wildfire?" Dais questioned, looking around the room.

"He's sick, he's resting upstairs in his room," Cye answered.

"Would you take me to him? I'd like to see if this illusion has been cast upon him. If so, I might be able to help him break free of it."

Cye nodded and slowly left the room, Dais right behind him.

"So, is that it, or is there more we need to know?" Mia asked as she stood to refill her tea.

"There is more, however anything we choose to do about it depends on whether or not Wildfire has this illusion upon him or not," Kayura said. "Someone has been going around digging up any information they could get on all of us, in the nether realm and in this one. As far as we can tell, they haven't attacked anyone as of yet. The thing that worries me is what they have on their side. Their powers are different than what we've seen before, their attacks silent. They don't seem to use any actual weapons, just what ever they find in the area."

"How so?" Rowen asked, more intrigued than worried.

"We've seen them rip trees from the ground, without touching them, then throwing them at great speeds and distances. They have the ability to make everything vanish in an area, so you're in an endless abyss of sorts. They can change into any shape or form at will-" Cale explained.

"WHAT?" Kento shouted, jumping up from his seat and knocking his chair over. "They shape shift? That's what we ran into earlier, they had Ryo in the mountains!"

"That's not good," Kayura stated. Before she could say more however, they could heard someone running down the stairs in a hurry.

"Guys, we have a problem!" Cye exclaimed while panting slightly. "Ryo's gone! We checked everywhere upstairs, he's really gone!"

Dais walked in right behind Cye, holding a piece of paper. He slowly made his way to Mia and handed her the folded sheet that they could now see had her name written on the front. She took the paper from Dais and took a deep breath before unfolding it to read what was written on the inside. After a moment she gasped and dropped the paper.

"He left on his own. He asked me to watch Ameena for him in case anything should happen to him. He said his tormentor has returned and he was going to finish things once and for all, even if it meant his death, said it would be better than the half life he's been living the past couple years."

Sage paled drastically and his eyes were impossibly wide, _Ryo wouldn't be that reckless, would he? He just couldn't… How does he expect to be able to fight in his condition? He isn't strong enough for another fight this soon. Oh god! He's not… He doesn't plan on coming back, ever._ "M- Mia," Sage stuttered, making everyone look at him. He never stuttered, something shook him. "That qu…question you asked u-us earlier… I think he j-j-just found his w-way out and p-plans on taking it."

"Shit, we have to find Ryo!" Kento swore then headed for the front door, the rest of the Ronins and the Warlords right behind him leaving Mia, Kayura and little Ameena in the house without so much as a good-bye.

* * *

**Hee hee hee! I totally love the way my mind works. Let me know what you thought, till next time.**


	11. Chapter 10

**So, it's not a huge update, more of a filler chapter again, but it's an update nonetheless! And it didn't take me a year this time! ...Just a month and a half...But I'm getting better! So, this one is just a bit different, I ended up putting in the point of view from a character I hadn't planned on doing that with, but it fit, so it stayed. Looking at it now, I'm not sure how this chapter would have worked without it. Someone will most likely hit me for the way this one ended...But... Oh well, right? lol  
**

* * *

Ryo stood beside White Blaze, looking at the charred remains of the warehouses before him in confusion. He couldn't remember hearing about a fire, but there clearly had been one. He scanned the area wearily, looking for anything that didn't belong, but not finding anything. Something wasn't right, of that much he was certain. Ryo slowly made his way to the docks, but refused to step onto the platform, remembering what happened last time he got to close to the water here. He could feel a strong power coming from the area, he just couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from.

"Where the hell is he? He tells me to come out here so we can finish out fight, then he hides instead, coward," Ryo mumbled to himself. He was starting to regret coming out here alone, but what else could he have done? Ask his friends to come along? There was no guarantee that they would still be here when he needed them. He had been surprised that they were still around when he'd woken up earlier, they were sticking around longer than usual and it confused him to no end.

The wind picked up a bit, throwing around some dead leaves and ash, reminding Ryo he should be paying more attention to where he was. The water was unnaturally still as the breeze hit Ryo once more. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, and yet the stars and moon couldn't be seen. _It shouldn't be this dark out, even with it being this late. He's here, I know he is, that's the only explanation, cause if he's not here then nothing makes sense. I just have to find him and get this over with._ Ryo thought to himself as he turned away from the water and headed back towards the buildings where White Blaze was still sniffing around.

* * *

"Any idea where he might have gone?" Rowen questioned as the group ran through the streets in their sub armor.

"No. Did he not say anything to you earlier that would help?" Cale questioned, looking at the Ronin in deep blue.

"No, he didn't say much of anything to anyone. He didn't really talk much at all," Cye said from Cale's other side.

"Guys, over there…" Sage whispered as his pace slowed. When the others slowed and turned to look at the blond, Sage stopped moving and faced away from the others, staring off into the distance.

"What is it Sage? What do you see?" Rowen questioned, coming to stand beside his rather quiet friend. Rowen studied Sage's face for a moment, trying to figure out what was going through his friend's mind. He knew Sage cared a great deal about Ryo, even if he'd never admit it to anyone, but Sage's face remained emotionless.

"There's a large amount of dark power in that direction…" he trailed off closing his eyes to concentrate on finding Ryo's armor. After a few moments his eyes flew open, surprise flickering in them briefly before he glanced to the left, at Rowen. "He's there at the warehouses in the city but he never goes there, not since the fight with Saranbo, since that wasn't really him with us last time _we_ were there. He's getting weaker, but he's pissed."

"Let's hope he can hold out till we get there," Kento replied. The Ronins and Warlords could only agree before taking off in a new direction.

* * *

Ryo found he couldn't keep his eyes off the destroyed building in front of him, no matter how hard he tried. He's even walked away from it, more than once, just to find he'd walk in a circle and be right back where he started; standing in front of the ruined warehouse. There was something about the building that didn't sit right with him, something about the whole area if he were to be honest with himself.

_It almost looks like I caused the fire that destroyed this building, just like that other fire. But this one couldn't possibly be my fault too… Could it? When did this warehouse burn down? Why didn't I hear about it? _Ryo was so deep in thought, he hadn't noticed White Blaze wandering off to explore a bit more. _I didn't do this. I didn't. I hope I didn't. Oh man, if I did, what would the guys think of me now? What would they think of what I've become? I'll bet they hate me, and they should. I hate me for what I did. I should have been able to control it, why wasn't I able to control it? I had it under control for so long, just to throw it away in one afternoon because I was mad. That's never made me lose control of it before though… I just don't understand anymore. I wish I could ask Rowen, he'd have some answers, he always does. I can't ask Rowen, I can't ask any of the guys and it's my own damn fault!_

White Blaze continued to wander around, keeping an eye on his human as he sniffed about. He had heard the others earlier while they were talking about a fight that had occurred out here while his human was away. Maybe he could find something to show his human, something that would help him understand what was going on. White Blaze knew if he couldn't find a way to show his human what was wrong, find some small thing that would help his human return from invisible place he always drifted off to, them he would end up losing his human for good. He was smarter than the average tiger, he knew his human was hurting, he also knew that what his human thought to be true was in fact a lie. If he couldn't find a way to help, his human would die. White Blaze didn't want that, it wasn't his human's time to die, not for some time yet. White Blaze had found a way into the remains of the burnt building, he looked over at his boy one more time before going in, leaving Ryo standing in the dark alone.

The chill that went down Ryo's spine had caught his attention fairly quick. He'd gotten lost in his mind once again and silently berated himself for it. He needed to stay focused. Malachite was still out there, and if the chill down his spine was anything to go by, he was close. Closer than he had been, he was finally moving. Ryo scanned the area again, trying to find his opponent. He tried not to worry about how he suddenly knew the man's name, if he was in fact a man, and tried to stay focused on the upcoming fight.

The first thing Ryo had noticed was he could no longer see White Blaze, he was still near, just not visible. He wasn't too concerned about that, even with the whispered reminder in his mind that the last time he lost sight of his companion, he'd been taken. He knew his tiger friend was only concerned and probably just checking the area. That tiger worried to much, or so Ryo thought.

The air steadily became colder and the night darker. Ryo glanced over his right shoulder and found he couldn't see any of the city anymore, just the twenty some feet around him. It was just pitch black around him now, almost like the last time, but he could still see his hands, and for that he was grateful. He wasn't fighting blind this time, well, not as blind. He was still alone. He still hadn't found where Malachite was hiding. And he was once again stuck in the vast nothingness that haunted his nights for the past few years. He could only hope that after tonight, he'd finally be able to move on.

* * *

The Ronins and Warlords were baffled by what they saw when they neared the warehouses. It was as though the whole area simply vanished in a thick black fog in the darkness of the night. There were no buildings, no dock over the water, no water for that matter. The sidewalks and streets were gone as well, nothing but a pitch black mass. From a distance it almost looked like it could have been fog, but up close it became clear that this wasn't fog. They weren't sure what to make of it.

"What the hell is that?" Sekhmet demanded, looking at the Ronin in deep blue.

"I'm not sure," Rowen admitted as he got a little closer to inspect the blackness. "It's not quite solid but I'm not sure if we could pass though it or not."

"I've seen this before," Sage mumbled as he moved to stand next to Rowen. The warrior in green walked along the edge of the black 'bubble' to get a better look. He knew he'd seen something similar before, he just couldn't place where. "In a dream?"

"What?" Rowen asked sounding surprised. "What do you mean you've seen this before? When? What were you doing around something like this without the rest of us?" Cye and Kento nodded in agreement while the Warlords looked on in confusion.

"I wasn't there, more like I saw it through someone else's eyes," Sage replied absently as he continued to study the wall before him. Sage remained silent as he contemplated their situation. He knew for certain he'd seen this before, and he'd seen it recently, but it wasn't here. No where near here in fact. He knew this had everything to do with what was going on with Ryo. "Ryo's in there," Sage spoke suddenly. "He's in there now, and he's been in there before. I think when I tapped into his mind earlier I saw this from when he saw it before."

"Okay, but how do we get in?" Kento asked as he approached the darkness that lay before them. "There has to be a way to get to Ryo. He needs our help."

Rowen found himself agreeing with Kento, Ryo needed them. They needed to find a way to help Ryo. They'd only just found him, they couldn't lose him again. Not like this. If Ryo was fighting what Kayura had spoken of, then he may not survive trying to fight this one alone. There had to be a way.

"Hey, help me push this through!" Kento called out as he stood next to a beat up truck. Rowen and Cale walked over to help Kento while Cye and Dais stayed with Sage. Dais turned to study the wall as Sage and Rowen had done only moments earlier. After a moment he realized something that shocked him. He spoke up just before the others could push the truck through.

"It's not dangerous. It's part of the illusion I was sensing earlier, whoever is controlling this is inside with Wildfire. There's no telling what Wildfire is seeing on the other side of this," Dais said to the group.

"So we should be able to walk right through it?" Cye questioned as he stepped closer to the wall. He waited for Dais' nod, then looked at the others. "Well, then let's go."

"Alright!" Kento exclaimed, more than ready to find and help his friend.

Sage on the other hand grew more anxious as they moved to pass through the blackness. He had a strong feeling that what waited for them on the other side was going to be stronger than anything they'd ever gone up against before. Would they make it in time to help Ryo? Would they be strong enough to beat this new enemy? Why did they appear to be focused on only Ryo? Would they finally get the answers to their questions about why their friend had vanished a few years earlier? He desperately hoped that Ryo was alright, that nothing had happened yet.

* * *

**HA! It's actually longer than the last chapter! Kudos to me!  
**

**Don't hurt me too bad or I won't be able to type up more of this! Hopefully it won't take too long to get the next chapter up. I'm getting super excited about this one though, some of the plot twists I have in there are getting ready to really be seen, and it's about to get a lot more twisted. And we find out why Ryo's been so distant. I can't wait for you guys to read what I still have in store for them!  
**


	12. Chapter 11

**Alright, here's the next chapter. I can't wait to see some of your reactions to it. So, now that I've updated(again...), I expect to see a certain someone update theirs soon. You know who you are, or at least you should. lol Now stop reading this, and read the story, that's what you came here for.**

* * *

**~~Chapter 11**

Sage's eyes widened in surprise as they made it through the wall of black energy. It was just as dark on the inside as the wall was on the outside. They could barely make out the buildings that they knew were in the area since it was so dark. Any light from the moon and stars outside the wall failed to penetrate the dark energy that now surrounded them. The air was much cooler inside as well and even though they could feel the gust of icy wind, the leaves and random debris on the ground never moved. It was almost like a black hole, no light, no sound, nothing. And what made it worse was they didn't see Ryo anywhere.

"I can't believe someone has this much power," Dais spoke and he looked around in wonder. "I didn't think it was possible to create as illusion this large, and on this many people. It shouldn't be possible."

"Maybe it's more than one person…" Rowen suggested as he looked around.

"Don't kid about something like that," Sekhmet scolded.

"Who said I was kidding?" Rowen asked. "I mean if you think about it, if it was just one person, wouldn't they have made a mistake by now? Pretending to be Ryo when he was already gone? Killing off a fake Ryo to fool us? Keeping us from finding out what happened that day, and whatever it is he's doing to Ryo to make him ignore us… If it was just one person, he would have slipped up by now." Rowen explained.

"Or he's been planning this for a very long time," Cye spoke quietly as he continued to watch the shadows before him. He thought he saw something moving, but he couldn't be sure without moving closer. "He could have been watching us for years, planning everything out. Kayura said someone had been asking questions about all of us, in both realms. Maybe he was asking questions for longer than we originally thought."

"He has a point, until we find this guy or Wildfire, we really don't know much," Cale replied then looked over at Dais who'd grown just as quiet as Halo. "What is it Dais?"

"I'm trying to break part of the illusion," he mumbled, eyes closed in concentration. He was quiet for a moment before he started mumbling again, this time low enough that no one could understand what was said. After a few minutes they were able to hear a bird chirping in the distance and the trees blowing in the wind, some sound had broken through the illusion barrier. Another couple minutes passed before they were able to clearly see the buildings ahead of them and White Blaze running towards them. Shortly after, the wall behind them fell and the darkness faded away to reveal a slightly lighter sky signaling that it was close to dawn. Dais sighed as he finally shattered the illusion that had been surrounding them, now if only they knew where Wildfire was so he could break the one that he was sure would be on him.

"White Blaze!" Kento yelled as he met the tiger halfway. "Where's Ryo, buddy? We know he's here."

* * *

White Blaze looked around in relief as the darkness melted away, he knew that the others had finally arrived to help his boy. He hadn't figured out how to show his charge what was wrong and had become frustrated. He saw Ryo fighting with the monster cloaked in pitch black and blood red and couldn't get Ryo away no matter what he tried. He could tell that his boy's strength was fading fast, as was his will to fight, if he didn't do something soon, he'd lose his charge. He had to find his human's friends, they would help him. They _could_ help him, even if Ryo himself didn't think they could.

White Blaze took off running towards where he knew the other Ronins would be standing, trying not to look back at Ryo. If he had seen Ryo fall to the ground, he would have gone to him rather than seek out his friends for the help he couldn't give. He ran as fast as he could, knowing that he didn't have any time to waste. When the Ronin in orange came to him and asked where Ryo was, he pushed him in the direction he just came from, then took off running once again. This time he was going to Ryo, only pausing for a moment to see that the others were in deed following him. He'd heard Ryo cry out in pain and knew he had to hurry.

* * *

The Ronins and Warlords followed an almost frantic White Blaze further down the street, toward the dock that the Ronins knew Ryo hated since his run in with Saranbo. Something had to be wrong with Ryo, White Blaze never acted like this. They'd never seen that gleam of worry and fear in the tiger's brown eyes.

As they got closer they could hear the sounds of laughter, and metal on metal. A sword fight. That meant Ryo was still fighting, or at the very least, blocking some attacks. The laughter worried them though, the hollowness of it made them shiver as they hairs on the backs of their necks stood on end. Whoever Ryo was fighting was truly evil if the laugh was anything to go by. As they rounded the next corner, the warriors all stopped as White Blaze darted forward, jumping in between a fairly beaten up Ryo and his unharmed opponent.

* * *

To put it simply, Ryo was worn out. He could barely fight now, all his energy gone. He could barely hold up his katanas to block Malachite's attacks, much less attack back. The force behind Malachite's last attack had sent him to the ground and he just didn't have the strength to get back on his feet, and to make matters worse, Malachite laughed at him, laughed at his defeat. And he knew he'd been defeated, he had nothing left to fight with.

Ryo lowered his head and closed his eyes, waiting for the next swing of his opponent's sword, but it never came. After a moment he couldn't help but get curious, he had to look. He slowly raised his head as blue eyes widened in disbelief. White Blaze and the Warlords stood around him, protecting him. Sekhmet and Cale rushed forward to attack Malachite as Dais knelt beside Ryo, a curious expression upon his face.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ryo couldn't help asking.

"We came to help you guys," Dais replied, glancing at the two Ronins that stood beside him. He noticed that Hardrock and Torrent had followed Sekhmet and Cale into battle as the mastermind behind the illusions had summoned some Dynasty warriors to his aid. "Tell me Wildfire, what do you see?"

Ryo looked up in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Take a look around and tell me what you can see. That 'creature' over there has cast an illusion of sorts on you, I need to know what you're seeing," Dais explained. He had noticed that Wildfire had yet to look at his friends, could he not see them? Surely he saw the tiger, why not the Ronins too?

"Okay," Ryo said, somewhat unsure. "You, obviously. The warehouses, a pile of rubble from what used to be a warehouse, the docks, Sekhmet and Cale, White Blaze, Malachite, some dynasty warriors… What are they doing?" Ryo questioned, watching the Dynasty warriors running around swinging at what could only be invisible opponents.

"They're fighting two of the Ronins," Dais replied, this time looking at Strata as he gasped in understanding. "You don't see them, do you?"

"Why would I see them?" Ryo asked defensively.

"Do you see anything or anyone next to me?" Dais asked.

"No," Ryo muttered. "Should I be able to see something next to you?"

"Yes, you should… Wildfire… Ryo," Dais started, "Why would you **not** see your friends, the Ronins?"

Sage knew something was definitely wrong. Why would Ryo get so defensive when they were mentioned? "Because they're dead. They're dead because I killed them," Ryo said quietly. Sage only heard Ryo's reply because Rowen had nudged him when Ryo looked like he was finally going to answer the question. Rowen has gasped in surprise with Ryo's answer, as did Sage and Dais.

"What do you mean, you killed them? When?" Dais asked, seeing the shocked expressions on the two Ronin's faces.

"Hey, we could use a little help over here!" Kento hollered as more soldiers appeared. Sage started to go over, but Rowen stopped him.

"You stay here with Ryo, I'll go help them," Rowen said as he walked off leaving Sage to stare at Ryo in confusion.

"Three and a half years ago…" Ryo mumbled quietly, staring at the ground. "I… I don't want to talk about it." Ryo struggled to stand, wanting to get away from the conversation. He really didn't want to talk about that, not with anyone.

"Ryo, no, don't move," Sage spoke, grabbing Ryo's arm as he tried to move away. "That's what you meant before, when you were surprised to see us still with you. You thought we were ghosts."

Ryo stopped when he felt someone grab his arm, but he didn't see anyone. After a moment though, he could have sworn he heard Sage speaking to him. Ryo blinked a few times before Sage came into focus saying something about not being a ghost.

"Yes, you are. You're not really here, and it's because of me. Hell, you were talking with Raye up on that mountain and she's been dead almost as long. I killed my friends, I lost control and killed my friends," Ryo said sadly as a lone tear made it's way down his cheek. Sage had released Ryo's arm in shock as Ryo spoke. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Sage, I never meant to hurt you guys." With that he turned away once more and slowly walked away from Sage and towards Malachite.

Rowen and Kento made their way to Sage and Dais after Ryo had rejoined the fight, oblivious to the other Ronins. "What the hell was that about? Why'd you let him go back in there?" Kento demanded angrily.

"He thinks we're dead…" Sage trailed off, watching Ryo carefully. Ryo truly believed what he'd told Sage. "We're just ghosts to him."

"He seems to think he killed all of you, three and a half years ago. He said he lost control and killed all of you," Dais spoke when Sage fell silent once again.

"But, I don't understand," Kento said, looking back over at Ryo who was once again fighting against Malachite. He turned back to his friends, face pale and asked, "What do you mean by lost control?"

Sage remained silent as he watched his dark haired friend closely. He took in every move Ryo made, every swing of his swords, every block he attempted. He watched as Ryo dropped to a knee as he blocked a particularly strong attack before he realised what he was truly seeing. "He's not using the armour's power to help him fight. He's only using his own strength to fight this time. The only part of the armour he's really using is the katanas."

"What? But, why?" Kento demanded, spinning around to look at Ryo once again, this time he was truly worried about his friend. "Why wouldn't he use the armour's power? I don't understand!"

"I think I do," Rowen stated gloomily. "He lost control of his amour, that's how he killed us, or at least that's what he believes."

* * *

**Remember, no killing me, I can't continue the story if I'm dead, now can I? lol**

***runs away before things are thrown*  
**


End file.
